A vent and some comfort food

I have never been really upset about my own allergies. I try to be grateful and appreciate that I can still still eat a lot of variety. I have kept my love for cooking and being in the kitchen.

This past Saturday though, my 11 year old son began having an allergic reaction. This is my child who is never sick and he ended up in the ER twice. Once to get the steroid shot and a second time after his face swelled so I could insist on an epi pen for him. I have no idea what his allergies could be since he had Halloween candy and we went out to eat.

He is seeing an allergist and will be tested when the antihistamines wear off. I am very upset on his behalf and feel so bad that I possibly passed this down to him. I hate that he now has to worry about his health every time he eats. I hate that he has to be different in this way and I find this all extremely unfair. I know we will get through this though and I am very glad I knew what was happening and responded so quickly. Thank goodness I had my good friend "D" to call. She has a child with allergies and is the founder of SAFER Houston an allergy support group. She kept me sane and answered questions as best as she could. Thank goodness for her!

Tonight I really needed some comfort food. I made Chicken pot pie, salad and apple spice bars. Pot Pie is a recipe I adapted-I found using the search engine and came up with one on the Bob's Red Mill site.

I used milk and cream in mine so you could adapt this recipe for your allergies to suit your needs.

Comfort Chicken Pot Pie

For the filling:

1 lb skinless cooked Chicken, cubed
1 cup chopped Carrots
1 small chopped Onion
2 chopped Celery Stalks
2 Tbsp. of garlic powder
2ups low sodium Gluten Free Chicken Broth
2 Tbsp. Tapioca Flour
3 Tbsp. Water
1 tsp. of dried rosemary

Heavy whipping cream

For the crust:

1-3/4 cups Beth's all purpose flour

2 tsp. of Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. dried Rosemary
4 Tbsp. of utter or margarine (room temp)
1/2 cup Milk

2 tsp. of honey

1 large egg, beaten

Filling:

1. Boil cubed chicken, chicken broth, carrots celery, onions, and garlic powder. Put salt and pepper to taste. Cook until chicken is cooked and veggies are tender. I used my chopper on the veggies and this cooked super fast.

2. Mix tapioca flour with 3 tablespoons water until paste forms, then stir into skillet slowly. Simmer until thickened. Add in whipping cream stirring until blended. Pour filling into baking dish-I used a large pie pan

Crust:

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Combine dry ingredients (flour to rosemary) in a large bowl. Add butter, milk,and egg, and mix together thoroughly.2. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto prepared filling. 3. Bake 25-35 minutes or filling is bubbling and topping is nicely browned. Serve immediately. Makes 12 Servings.

Apple Spice bars

I love finding new products! My local Kroger store starting carrying 1-2-3 Gluten Free products. They seem extremely allergy friendly and have a dedicated facility.

I bought the Sweet Goodness Pan Bars there is a recipe on the back of the box for apple spice bars. I added cinnamon for extra spices and chopped raisins just because it sounded good. They are so good but not really bar like. Cut it into squares and call it cake if you like :)

Do like I did and serve on paper plates for once-spend the extra time with your family.