Lisa's Gluten-Free Advice and Healthy Living

Split Pea Soup

Posted: 24 Jan 2011 07:45 PM PST

This recipe is from a friend of mine, Linda Etherton at The Gluten-Free Homemaker. She always has great recipes on her website. On Wednesdays she has a food carnival called, Gluten-Free Wednesdays where anyone can link their gluten-free recipes. When you get a chance stop by and check out her website. Thank-you Linda for sharing your recipe with my reader's.

This is the perfect time of year for cooking split pea soup. I don't know about you, but in the summer when temperatures are hot and fresh vegetables are abundant, I have no interest in pea soup, but six months later in the cold of winter, it's just perfect.

Pea soup has not always been a favorite of mine. In fact, I wouldn't eat it for years, but I have learned to really enjoy it. This recipe contains the ingredients that I personally enjoy in the soup, particularly potatoes. However, you might like adding carrots or other vegetables.

I love using a pressure cooker to make pea soup. I love using a pressure cooker for many things, but it is a real time saver with this. Therefore, I will give directions for cooking with a pressure cooker or without. If you use a pressure cooker, be sure it can be cooked on a low (8 psi) setting. Peas should not be cooked under high pressure. Also, be sure your pressure cooker pot is no more than half full.

Split Pea Soup
1 lb. dry split peas, washed
1 large onion, chopped
2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
6 c. chicken broth*
1 bay leaf
1/2 lb. ham, chopped (or bacon, vary amount to your taste)*
pepper to taste

Pressure Cooker: Combine all ingredients except the pepper in the pressure cooker. Heat and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Close the lid and bring to low pressure using high heat. Cook for 22 minutes. Remove from heat and let the pressure come down naturally. Remove bay leaf, stir, and add pepper to taste.

Stove Top: Combine all ingredients except the potatoes and pepper in a large heavy pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add the potatoes and continue to cook until they are tender. Remove bay leaf, stir, and add pepper to taste.

Leftover soup will be very thick the next day. You can thin it with more broth, water, or milk if desired.

*Split pea soup can very easily be made gluten free. Check your chicken broth ingredients (I make my own or use Pacific brand) and make sure the ham is gluten free.

Linda Etherton began her gluten-free journey in 2000 when she was diagnosed with celiac disease. She shares recipes and information about living gluten free on her blog, The Gluten-Free Homemaker. Linda believes that gluten free can and should be delicious and never apologizes for serving gluten-free food.

101 Recipes for Gluten-Free Microwave Mug Cakes Giveaway Winner

Posted: 24 Jan 2011 04:47 PM PST

Congratulations to the winner of the 101 Recipes for Gluten-Free Microwave Mug Cakes Giveaway from Microwave Mug Cakes, written by Stacey J. Miller. And the winner is #92, SLS(atlmuzikfanzinc) you have won. I used random.org to determine the winner. 

Stacy was on the Rachel Ray Show back in June. Stacy had come across a mug cake recipe and loved it and when she tried to find other recipes she could not find any, so she decided to make her own recipes. She started out with the 101 Microwave Mug Cakes and now has the Gluten-Free version of the book.

Now you can make a single serving of cake without having to make a whole cake and a gluten-free cake at that. Here is a great little book just full of gluten-free cakes and muffins for you too enjoy. The recipes are fun and easy to make and are healthy. All you need is a microwave oven, a mug, a saucer, and a mixing bowl. 

The book provides a mix of recipes, that, in addition to being gluten-free, include snacks that may have one or more of the following properties: no added eggs, no added dairy products, no added sugar, or no added oil. Gluten-free microwave mug cakes are the ultimate healthier single-serving snack.

Check out the Microwave Mug Cakes website, they have a couple recipes you can try out for free. You can get the 101 Recipes for Gluten-Free Microwave Mug Cakes on Amazon.

Thank-you everyone for entering my giveaway, it was allot of fun.