Another Gluten-Free Holiday :)

Merry Christmas Eve, all!

Yeah...I'm a slacker-blogger :).

Thought I'd drop a quick post about my new favorite GF item...Progresso Soup! Many of their varieties are now gluten free....how awesome is that!  Be careful, not ALL of their soups are gluten free.  The ones that are, are clearly labeled on the can.

The most exciting to me thus far is the cream of mushroom soup....this is, in my opinion, a bit of a breakthrough in the gluten-free-cooking world.  Many casseroles call for a creamy soup...and creamy soups are typically rather hard to find (in my experience, anyway).  Now, though, a cream-based GF soup is easy to find at common grocery stores....and inexpensive to boot!

I used my first can of Progresso cream of mushroom soup today in a cheesy potato casserole dish that i made and brought to my in-laws' tonight for our Christmas Eve dinner.

The recipe called for 2 lbs of shredded frozen hash browns (I used Ore-Ida...GF), 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup of melted butter, 1 can of cream soup, salt/pepper to taste, and 1 cup of sour cream....I mixed all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and then spread in a 9x13 pan.

Before adding the cream of mushroom soup, i actually strained out the rather large chunks of mushrooms.  While I tend to enjoy mushrooms....my husband definitely doesn't.  So, the chunks had to go!

I baked the casserole at 350 for a little over an hour....and, since it sure wasn't fatty enough already ;), I sprinkled a bit of shredded cheddar on top before it was finished.

So, there you have it....a yummy, easy GF side dish that is sure to please the cheesy-potato lovers in your family :).

Merry Christmas!

Posted by Rachelyn via Blogaway

CUPCAKES!

So I am hosting a baby shower today with two of my good friends, Jamie and Shannon! Our friend, Jillian, is expecting a baby with her husband Lynden in late December! We couldn't be more excited for them :).

We've been planning this for weeks...and it will all come together (hopefully!! :)) today! I had volunteered to make a dessert (GF of course, for myself and another guest who is GF...our friend Maggie). Yesterday I decided it would be cupcakes.

FILLED cupcakes.

I've never attempted such a feat, but decided...why not?! Really, there's not a whole lot that excites me more than a new baking adventure. Ok...maybe I like running a bit more ;)....but I do really like creating new things, including in the kitchen.

I think it was at least somewhat successful :).

What was the method to my madness you ask?

Well, I started with Betty Crocker's awesome GF cake mixes. I made 14 chocolate cupcakes and 15 yellow cupcakes (why the strange numbers??...just how the batter ended up working out in the cupcake liners. Ha!).

I simply followed the instructions on the packages and let the cupcakes cool.

As they cooled on the counter...I made the filling.

I read a number of recipe blogs online to get the inspiration, but ended up completely making up the filling I used....I was personally craving strawberry, so I knew I wanted something strawberry-and-creme-y

I made a box of stove-top vanilla pudding (it called for 3 cups of milk, I used 2 1/4 cups of milk to ensure the pudding would be really thick). I simply followed the instructions on the box.

To the completed pudding, I added half of a brick of cream cheese (I ended up using the 1/3 less fat variety), 2 cups of powdered sugar, and a half a cup of strawberry jam (I use the "simply fruit" kind with no added sugar...not that it really matters in this case, with all of the sugar in the cupcakes! HA!). I mixed this with a hand mixer until it was super smooth and creamy. I then stuck it in the freezer to cool for a while (it was still pretty hot from cooking the pudding).

When I was satisfied that the filling was sufficiently cooled, I spooned it into a pastry bag fitted with a long narrow tip (for Bismark filling). I thrust the tip into the center of the top of the first cupcake...and squeezed some filling down into the cupcake!

It was really a guessing game...clearly you can't really see the filling going into the cupcake, so I was guessing by "feel". Sometimes the top of the cupcake began to raise up a bit as I squeezed the filling in, so I knew I should probably stop to ensure I didn't make the poor thing explode.

Some of the filling oozed out the top hole of the cupcakes...so I gently wiped off the excess if there was a lot.

After all of the filling was inserted, I frosted those bad boys!

I just whipped up some easy frosting (with lots of powdered sugar to ensure it would be stiff enough to hold its shape) and added a few drops of blue food coloring to make pastel blue frosting. I glopped the stuff into a different pastry bag fitted with a round tip and piped spiral-ly tops onto the cupcakes.

Our friends Paul and Lisa were over during this escapade watching a movie with Jeremy downstairs. I brought them each one when they were complete...and they did voice approval of the treats...but I am not sure if they were just being polite ;). The true test will be this afternoon's shower! :)

Regardless of outcome, they were a really fun first attempt at a filled cupcake...and I would love to experiment more! I just need more people to be my taste-testers so I don't end up gaining 50 lbs! :)

Happy Baking!

Carnitas Soup

So, I enjoy adapting favorite recipes and making them "my own". Monday night I needed to prepare some soup for a potluck lunch at work the next day. I decided to adapt one of my favorite recipes, Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup...

Basically, I pulled out my crockpot...plugged it in (on LOW heat)...and started layering the following items inside:

1. 1 bottle of gluten free beer...I used Redbridge

2. Pour in one package of GF taco seasoning (I used McCormick's reduced sodium)

3. Add veggies/beans....adapt however you want! I used all canned, but you can use fresh things as well! I put in:

~ two cans of tomatos/chillies (one happened to be Rotel brand, the other was something else I can't remember...but usually I use all Rotel),

~two cans of diced tomatoes,

~one large can of black beans (drained, rinsed),

~two cans of hominy (drained, rinsed),

~two cans of dark red kidney beans (drained, rinsed)

3. Add meat...I used 2.5 lbs of pork loin...just plopped it into the middle of the mess of beans/veggies and covered it up by spooning veggies/beans on top.

4. The soup looked kinda thick so I added 3 cups of water...could also use some kind of stock (when I've made chicken taco soup this way, I use chicken stock for a bit more liquid)

5. Add some more seasoning if you want...I sprinkled some cumin, salt, and fresh-ground pepper on top.

6. Cover and let your crock pot work it's magic! I cooked it over night for 7 hours on low, then brought it to work and cooked for 3 more hours on low. Clearly it would very...but this turned out pretty dang deliciously!

7. Shred your meat (pork here). When I woke up in the morning (which happened to be 4:30am since I was going to a spinning class prior to work!), I pulled out the pork (which was falling-apart-tender) and shredded it quickly on a cutting board, and then put it back into the soup and gave it a good stir.

8. Serve with any appropriate accompaniments...tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, bread...whatever! :)

The crock pot was scraped to the very bottom at the lunch...so I think that was a good sign :).

Here's a picture of some of the "leftover" (I reserved some of it to keep at home. Actually, it's going to be our dinner tonight!).

Enjoy!!!

(aside...someday I'll get a "real" camera and learn how to take "real" photos :))

Raspberry Muffins

Last weekend we had some "surprise" overnight weekend guests....well a surprise to me, anyhow. My wonderful husband had planned a surprise birthday party for me. Two of the out of town guests, Brooke and Jamie, had arranged with Jeremy to stay overnight at our house after the party on Saturday night. Naturally I was SUPER excited...Brooke is one of my dearest friends, however I was also a bit stressed...if you know me, you know I like to have control and order in my life, and this would include having an as-close-to-possible immaculate home if I have guests ;). Ok, immaculate is probably a bit strong ;). CLEAN, at least ;).

Thankfully, things weren't TOO bad around here ;). Just my "hoarding room" aka, the office, was REALLY bad...and I needed to last-minute scramble to clean up my bathroom (the bathroom they'd be using) to make it at least somewhat clean and presentable! :)

Sunday morning I got up before the three of them had gotten up and searched my kitchen for something acceptable to make for breakfast. I happened upon some delicious organic raspberries (had been on sale at our local Meijer that week) in my fridge and paired them up with a recipe in Carol Fenster's 1000 Gluten Free Recipes (which had been a gift from my sister about two years ago and is still my favorite gluten-free cookbook...go grab one if you don't already own this treasure!!). I basically used the recipe/adapted it a bit (I tend to take liberty with all recipes and adapt them to make them my own. This is a "skill" I learned from my mother, the great Sally ;)).

The muffins received rave reviews from my guests and Jeremy. Jamie ate three. The rest of us had one :). I also made some cheesy scrambled eggs to go along with the muffins (I think Brooke and I were the only ones who ate the eggs, though :). We are biiiig cheese aficionados ;).)

Here's what I did:

(based off of Carol's Raspberry Muffins with Streusel Topping on page 29 of the cookbook)

LIQUID INGREDIENTS

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup milk (I used organic Horizon 2%, a staple in our home...but you may substitute with any kind of milk...rice, almond, etc.)

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract (make sure it's GF!)

(Carol also called for grated lemon zest, which I don't care for...so I omitted)

DRY INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups flour blend (I tried out my new GF Bisquick! Carol called for her Sorghum Blend)

1/4 cup sweet rice flour (Carol called for Expandex modified tapioca starch)

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (more than she called for)

1 teaspoon salt

1 6 ounce container fresh raspberries, gently washed and patted dry

3/4 cup Streusal Topping

(She has a recipe for this on page 566 of her cookbook...but I made up my own. I put 1/2 cup brown sugar in a bowl, along with 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, a large handful of crushed up corn Chex cereal, and 3 tablespoons of butter chopped up into little pieces. I mixed this all up with a fork)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin cups with papers.

2. Beat eggs with an electric mixer on low speed until light yellow and frothy, about 30 seconds. Add milk, oil, vanilla...beat on low speed until the batter is smooth and slightly thickened.

3. In a different bowl, mix together all dry ingredients except raspberries. With mixer on low speed, gradually beat dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients until the batter is smooth and slightly thickened. Gently stir in the fresh raspberries.

4. Spoon batter into muffin cups and sprinkle some Streusal Topping on each muffin, gently pressing down the topping into the batter slightly.

4. Bake 20-25 minutes or until the muffin tops are firm and the edges start to pull away from the pan.

5. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on wire rack or plate for approximately five more minutes...serve warm!

YUMMY! :)

Enjoy! :)

Rudi's Gluten Free Bread

So we have potluck lunches every so often at work (usually my idea ;). I head up the "Fun Committee" at work...a very boring, very vanilla name for a group of co-workers who tries to come up with fun ways of promoting a more exciting workplace and making relationship-building a priority)...

Obviously potlucks are really no place for gluten allergies, or food allergies of any kind for that matter. Usually I can eat what I bring...and maybe 1-2 other things, if that. Really, it doesn't bother me much...if at all. 2 years ago when I started this "journey"...I usually got annoyed. Once I even skipped a work lunch because pizza was being served and I really didn't want to deal with sitting there and being the only one who wasn't eating pizza. It probably sounds completely lame...but it was really hard for me to be the "odd man out."

So, yesterday we had a potluck. My co-worker, Debra, signed up to bring bread (the "main dishes" at this particular potluck were a variety of soups). In addition to a loaf of "normal" ;) bread...she brought a loaf of multi-grain gluten free bread made by Rudi's...a company I'd never heard of until that moment!

IT WAS DELICIOUS!

If you've ever tried gluten free bread...you know that most gluten free breads leave more than a few things to be desired. Taste. Texture. UGH...gluten free bread is usually pretty nasty and similar to cardboard or styrofoam.

Rudi's though....delicious! Really! I ate two slices dipped in my carnitas taco soup (made by me ;)).

Check out the website: Rudi's Gluten Free Bakery

I am not sure where Deb found the bread...but I looked on the website, and they do carry it at Naturally Yours here in Bloomington! WOO HOO! :) You can search on the site under the "where to buy" option and search for locations near you where you can buy this yummy bread! Apparently they are a few different varieties...the one I tried was the multigrain, and again...I'd completely recommend it! :) Two thumbs WAY up! AND...FYI, it's dairy free as well! :)

I am already looking forward to my toast in the morning...complete with homemade cherry jam from my friend Jami! :)

Olive Garden!

Ok, this may not be really "new" news in the Gluten Free world...but it is news to me! My friend Jillian just let me know that Olive Garden has a gluten free menu! I knew they had a gluten free menu already...and I thanked her for the knowledge but said I already knew that. She went on to say, however, that they now have a gluten free pasta! Previously when I had checked their website, I think they only had steak/chicken/salmon options! (But, again, I hadn't checked their website in a while)
Now, indeed, they do have a gluten free penne pasta with marinara option. Also, I noted that their yummy salad (without crutons, of course ;) ) is gluten free! I do love their house Italian dressing, so that was awesome to see :).
So, all of you GF lovers, go check out your local Olive Garden for some yummy GF eats! It's always fantastic to have another GF restaurant option :).
Click here for the GF menu :).

THANKS JILLIAN

(as with any Gluten Free-claiming-menu....be responsible and check with your server/a manager to ensure that measures have been taken to prevent cross-contamination.)

GLUTEN FREE BISQUICK?!

WHOAAAAA!

Check this out! Gluten free Bisquick?! Looks like i need to hook myself up with this! That's amazing! Betty Crocker, you're a saint! :)

Pizza cravings

So I am fairly certain I have posted about *PIZZA* at least a few times on this little blog :).

Well...we're coming up on my big "two-year anniversary" of being GF (Oct. 18, 2008 was my first GF day!)...and I still crave pizza...real pizza...like none other.

Do I crave other non-GF foods? Yeah, sometimes...just a bit. But, really, it's typically nothing that I can't redirect by eating something as equally yummy that happens to be GF.

Pizza, though, man....it just drives me nuts!

Honestly...sometimes it really makes me angry, these pizza cravings. I was trying to explain it to Jeremy the other day. It is really the only food that I get *angry* over. People can eat pretty much anything else in front of me and I don't care a whole lot. Sure there are some things that look good...but I get over it.

Pizza though? Ugh. I am plagued by the stuff.

It probably sounds strange...but I am pretty sure part of my "issue" with it is the social aspect. EVERYONE likes and eats pizza! It's no fun being the dork in the room who can't eat it, too!

This week I was craving pizza in a horrible way. I ended up making myself a pseudo-pizza substitute on Friday night when Jer was eating dinner out with his friend Chuck....

I've mentioned the awesomeness of Chebe products before...but I will take this time to sing their praises once again :).

I found a few packages of dry mix in my pantry (SCORE!) on Friday night and used the cheese bread mix to make a yummy pizza crust. The back of the package instructs one on how to make a pizza crust with the mix...basically add some egg, oil (I used butter), and cheese to the dry mix. I also added some garlic salt and extra baking powder (to make it a little softer). I then rolled it out into an awkward rectangle on a non-stick baking sheet and baked that sucker. After twenty minutes I brushed my crust with a melted butter/garlic salt mixture and sprinkled cheese on top. I threw that back into the oven for a few minutes while I heated up some marinara (Prego brand is gluten free...they even indicate that on the jar!). When the cheese was bubbly, I removed it from the oven...sliced it up...and ate it with the marinara sauce for dipping. MMMM!

A delicious dinner that satisfactorily met the requirements of the cravings that had been plaguing me all week :).

Thanks, Chebe, for coming through for me again :).

Good article

Good article I read tonight on active.com

NEW BLOGGY FRIEND!

Check out an awesome new blog I found....Knitting is Gluten Free

I also added this blog to my list of GF blogs located in the right-hand side column on this blog.

Yahoo for another fun gluten-free blog to keep up with...love getting new tips!

AND, the author is a fellow knitter, as well!

Ok, so her knitting skills are definitely more advanced than mine ;). I tend to stay with scarves/hats and the occasional cowl ;).

BUT, the blog looks awesome and fun!

Enjoy! :)

Woodchuck Cider

...not only is it absolutely DELICIOUS, but it is gluten free as well!

Sadly, I tended to forget about the glory that is Woodchuck Cider...

No longer, my friends!

It is now at the forefront of my mind as one of my favorite alcoholic beverages :).

Whether or not you have to eat/drink GF...give it a try!

ALL of their ciders are GF!!!

My personal favorite is the raspberry.

However, my good friend Ashley informed me that I need to try the 802 Dark and Dry. Seeing as I was a dark beer afficianado pre-GF days...sounds like I need to give 'er a try! :)


Drink up, friends! :)

Twitter

So, if you're reading my blog...you likely know that I'm a big dork ;).

I have an Android phone...and I love it.

My husband would say I love it too much.

I beg to differ ;). I argue with him that HE is on HIS Android phone more than I am, really! ;) I mean, after all, HE is the one who convinced ME to down load a weird game last night...Angry Birds. Come on!!! ;)

Anyway.

I have the Twitter app on my phone....on my home screen, actually. My PINK home screen ;).

Some of the people/things I follow include....Whole Foods, Gluten Free Works, Women's Health, Runner's World, and a few random friends.

Honestly, I don't "tweet" a whole lot...I just love to read the articles "tweeted" by some of the people/things I follow.

Especially the gluten-free-living and running ones!

Here's a recent article tweeted by Gluten Free Works that I appreciated: The News Media, Gluten Free Diet, and Educating Yourself to be Healthy

One of the things that has been really bothering me lately is reading in magazines (Redbook, for example) about food allergies...and reading about how the GF diet is a "fad". Ok, maybe for some people it is...

But for those of us who have an actual medical condition, it is most definitely NOT a fad.

It's very interesting...and irritating, really...to me the number of people who run their mouths about things they really have no idea about.

I mean, I don't really expect people who don't have some sort of wheat or gluten allergy/sensitivity/intoleralce/Celiac Disease/etc. to GET it...not at all! It would just be nice if they wouldn't publish misleading articles.

Here's another article I recently found, thanks to Twitter...

Celiac and Gluten-Free Inaccuracies in the Media
Setting the Record Straight
By Kristin Voorhees, NFCA Program Associate
It seems that with each day, celiac disease, gluten intolerance and the gluten-free diet receive an increasing amount of attention in the media and pop culture.
Because celiac remains greatly underdiagnosed (experts report the latest undiagnosed prevalence to be 95%), any publicity or recognition in the news of this condition and its gluten-free lifestyle is generally welcomed. After all, awareness brings treatment that, in turn, brings improvement of the quality of life for those with celiac disease and gluten intolerance!
In the case of public relations, many would argue that, “there’s no such thing as bad press.” Unfortunately, in the case of celiac disease, this saying does not always hold true.
For those with celiac disease, the gluten-free diet is medical nutrition therapy and is the only treatment available. Consequently, it is not only important that gluten-free be taken seriously, but necessary, as well. And, with the field of celiac disease research continually growing and many new areas being studied, including defining and differentiating entities such as gluten intolerance and gluten sensitivity from the wide spectrum of celiac disease, we are learning that many other individuals also benefit from the gluten-free diet.
Given the increased prevalence of celiac disease and the expanding field of research, it is now more important than ever that the media accurately communicate information surrounding these topics.
While it is not unusual for celiac disease to be inaccurately discussed in the media, the frequency with which it occurs seems more frequent. This past month of August provided two examples, both nationally and internationally.
The Guardian, a UK newspaper, recently covered a story from Italy on the death of a gluten intolerant boy who was served a biscuit with his dessert. Given the gravity of this event’s outcome, it is expected that all details published surrounding this misfortune be accurate. Instead, this article is an example of the how the media often publishes misinformation regarding celiac disease.
I turned to Dr. Alessio Fasano, Medical Director of The University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research and NFCA Scientific/Medical Advisory Board member, to identify the misinformation within this article and suggest an explanation of what likely caused this young boy's unfortunate death.
“This is the typical example of terminology confusion as it concerns reaction to gluten. It is now well established that there are different forms of immune reactions to gluten that often are confused with each other even by health care professionals. Based on the press report, it is pretty obvious that the boy experienced an anaphylactic reaction to gluten typical of the most severe form of wheat allergy. These reactions are based on the response of the immune system through the production of specific immunoglobulins called IgE and the release of histamine that, in extreme cases like this, can cause sudden death. Conversely, celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that, like other autoimmune reactions, is mediated by the activation of specific immune cells that produce toxic chemicals (cytokines) that destroy tissues (in the case of celiac disease, the intestine). The role of antibodies (TTG antibodies that are of class IgA and, therefore, totally different compared to IgE) in the pathogenesis of celiac disease remains unclear. Because the long process of activation of cell-mediated immune reactions, autoimmune diseases, including celiac disease, never present themselves with acute reactions like the one experienced by the young Italian boy.”
Back in the states, NBC’s "Today" show featured celiac disease in a news segment with the network’s Chief Medical Editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman titled, “The Truth About Your Tummy Troubles.”
During this news segment,"Today" ran the following contradictory captions regarding the prevalence of celiac disease:
“More than 2 million Americans have been diagnosed”
“97% of people with celiac disease go undiagnosed”
The diagnosis of 2 million Americans gives the impression that there are an estimated 67 million undiagnosed. A very lofty calculation indeed! Of course, it is very likely that the network meant to announce that more than 2 million Americans are expected to have celiac disease, which is in fact true. But as the need for education and awareness about the autoimmune condition increases, so too does the need for truthful information and accurate statistics.
NBC also aired misleading information regarding the gluten-free diet as its treatment when Dr. Snyderman began her response to a viewer’s question, “My husband has just been diagnosed with celiac disease. Will he ever be able to eat wheat or gluten products again?” with “Well, it depends.”
Rather, Dr. Snyderman’s answer should have been a definitive “No.” This would have also been an apt time to emphasize that the gluten-free diet is the only treatment for a person with celiac disease. This should serve as a reminder that popular myths such as “celiac can be outgrown” and “people with celiac can tolerate a small amount of gluten from time to time” still exist.
These are important myths to dispel considering the complications of undiagnosed celiac disease, which include infertility, osteoporosis, development of other autoimmune diseases, and even cancer. Furthermore, diagnosed patients who adhere to a gluten-free diet and continue to ingest gluten, both intentionally and unintentionally, may develop serious complications of the disease including refractory sprue, intestinal adenocarcinoma, and enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma.
Of course it is important not to overlook Dr. Snyderman’s correct explanations that celiac is under diagnosed, it is “a sort of the disease du jour”, and that an endoscopy is often performed to confirm the diagnosis . Since "Today" is the top-rated morning show, Dr. Snyderman truly had a significant opportunity to provide valid information.Just two weeks prior to this segment with Dr. Snyderman, "Today" featured Health magazine’s Medical Editor Dr. Raj and her explanation of how the gluten-free diet treats celiac disease, including the significant effort required to uphold the diet.
What is the lesson to be learned?
Our efforts to increase the awareness of celiac disease are far from over. In fact, in some ways we are just beginning. In our current age of information overload, there is plenty of news about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. Our task is to call out the correct from the erroneous, just as Shelley Case, B.Sc., RD. did last week following publication of a Wall Street Journal article entitled, "Giving Up Gluten to Lose Weight? Not So Fast.”
Shelley was one of the featured gluten-free diet experts quoted in the article, but helped to clear up misinformation regarding gluten-containing products that was included in the Wall Street Journal's story. The publication honored Shelley’s request for a correction, which ran four days after the original article had been published.

Just some food for thought! :) :)

Autism...cured?

Before you freak out at me ;)....this isn't a case of "autism" being "cured"....
the kiddo in this article didn't really HAVE autism, it was undiagnosed Celiac Disease....

Can Untreated Celiac Disease Look Like Autism???

interesting! quite!

Great resource

I've posted links to Dr. Stephen Wangen's blog before, I believe...and read a post on his blog this morning that I wanted to be sure to share:

Feeding the Family: What you (and the caregiver) Need to Know

It's so fascinating to me...this link between what we eat and how our body responds. I mean, makes perfect sense...but it's so easy to ignore.

Have a wonderful day!

Why does eating GF have to be so gosh-darn expensive!?

So tomorrow we (the Bloomington Easter Seals SLPs) are having a baby shower for our dear friend (and fellow SLP :)), Abbey. I am bringing dessert. Usually I like to put forth some valiant effort when it comes to hostessing/baking/cooking to entertain or for a party...but I am feeling tired and cheap lately. And, my husband informed me we have met our budget for June and can't spend any money until July (which, thankfully, is just two days away ;)). So, what to make for dessert....I decide to go to Cub food and decided ahead of time that I would be making a NON-GF dessert (I don't care that I can't eat it!)...I ended up buying a funfetti cake mix (mmmm! I used to love those! And they are super girlie and fun! Haha!!!) and a big container of vanilla frosting...for $2.82. What?! I know, I know...to all of you non-GF folk out there, that surely doesn't sound too impressive. But $2.82 for a whole, big dessert that will feed a lot of people!? Unheard of! I haven't been able to pull that off in the past 18 months since going GF! I am pretty proud of my frugal-ness today :).

Ok, Abbey...if you are reading this ;)...you are TOTALLY MORE THAN WORTH a fancy, expensive dessert...and I apologize for being a slacker!!! ;) I am sure you know how it goes, though, being tired and cheap every now and again! ;)

I am totally looking forward to the shower, though!! :)

I love get-togethers like that!! :) I am so thankful to work with such fun, sweet women...I love spending time with them!

Bring on Tuesday!

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies

So yesterday I decided to "pretend" to be "domestic" again.

Don't get me wrong...I actually really do love all things "domestic." Cooking, cleaning, baking, laundry...it all gets me sorta high. (just don't show me an iron...I refuse to iron. Jeremy does the ironing around here....for real)

However, I just haven't had TIME lately to do many of those things.

This weekend, however...this weekend was a catch-up weekend. It was the first weekend we had been HOME since early March. Seriously.

So, among many, MANY other things...yesterday I baked!

I adapted a "new" (new to me) recipe from my 1000 Gluten-Free Recipes book (By Carol Fenster)....Double Chocolate Chip Cookies. What I did was inspired by her recipe, but I tweaked it, slightly. The result? AMAZINGLY delicious. Jeremy likes them, too! :) The cookies are totally soft and cake-like. Delectable, really! :)

Recipe....
Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookies
(the recipe in Carole's book is "Double Chocolate Chip Cookies)

3/4 cup Land O' Lakes butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free flour blend
1/2 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup sweet white rice flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
sprinkling of salt
1 pkg (minus a few that prematurely made it to my mouth...haha!) chocolate chips

(as always, make sure that all of the ingredients you use are GF!!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Place baking mat on a baking sheet.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and both sugars with an electric mixer on low speed until very smooth (approximately one minute). Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Gradually add the flours, cocoa, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt. Continue beating on low speed just until blended. The batter will be rather thick. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop 1 1/2 inch balls of dough at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Bake 13 minutes. Cool on baking sheet, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Voila! They are soooo yummy, esp. when still warm and served with a glass of milk!

ENJOY!

Firehouse Pizza

So, Firehouse Pizza (located in Normal...and also in Peoria) has the BEST GF pizza in town. By far. It is amazing, amazing, amazing! Jeremy and I went on a date :) last night...he let me pick the restaurant, so I chose Firehouse. We've been there a few times (Jeremy loves their calzones, so we don't really go there JUST for me ;))...but last night it was particularly good! I get the pizza with garlic sauce, mozzarella cheese, Canadian bacon, pineapple, and mushrooms...and then a side of marinara to dip it in. SO AWESOME!

SO, if you are in the Blo-No area and want some delicious GF pizza, RUN...don't walk...to Firehouse Pizza in Uptown Normal for some awesome, awesome pizza! :)

Destihl

FYI if you're in the Bloomington-Normal area and want an awesome gluten free meal.....second to Biaggi's (the best, in my opinion, for eating out gluten free in this town...they have an amazingly huge GF menu and are very knowledgeable about the GF diet in general) is Destihl. They don't have a specific gluten-free menu, but many of their items are gluten free or can be made gluten free...and they are delicious!!! We went there tonight to celebrate Father's Day with Jeremy's family.

We had an AWESOME waiter tonight, too, which is always a plus :)

I had...a spinach/orange/strawberry/goat cheese salad with orange balsamic vinaigrette...a bison burger (no bun)...and some yummy orange-ginger iced tea.

YUM!

So, if you are GF and in Blo/No, check out Destihl!! :)

AND, check them out if you aren't, too! ;) Jeremy LOVES the pizza and beer :) :)

The Gluten Free Diet....sometimes it just sucks

I just read this blog entry form another person's gluten free blog....The Gluten Free Diet--Sometimes it just sucks

I completely agree with all of the emotions brought up in the blog entry and the comments on the post.

I have been relatively "fine" lately, diet-wise.....but that doesn't mean it's always easy. Sure, it's been 19 months of gluten-free living (and still, no cheating!)....but that doesn't make social situations, which we all know often center around food (and mainstream party/social food tends to be chock-full of gluten!), any easier.

You really don't get just how much our lives revolve around food (which is really kind of sick/pathetic when you really get right down to it....I mean, here I am complaining about not being able to eat gluten when there are people in the world STARVING).....until you are faced with some sort of food allergy or intolerance.

Anyway, I could go on and on about that all day....

I'll just steal a couple of the quotes from the blog entry I mentioned above and the comments after it that really resonated with me:

"Sometimes being forced to be on a gluten-free diet just sucks. There’s no getting around it. I wish I could run out and grab a slice of pizza or get a sandwich at my favorite deli for lunch."

"Sometimes I just want to be able to eat a Twinkie or a box of Wheat Thins (of course I haven’t eaten a Twinkie since I was in elementary school, but somehow knowing that I won’t ever be able to eat one again makes me mourn the loss)." I know it probably sounds super overly dramatic to talk about "mourning a loss" when it comes to food...but it does stink to go without old favorites, such as bread bowls from Panera, Oreos, etc., etc.

"In the last year I have become so adept at eating/living gluten-free it has started to seem less like a burden, but it still is really hard sometimes." Absolutely agree. Most days it is so easy, basically second nature. However, there are days when it is truly hard.

"I usually don’t have that much of a problem sitting at a table while other people eat, but I had already been so demoralized by the previous evening that this was just too much. I fought back tears and tried to silence a rumbling stomach as we talked business." It really stinks sitting at a table full of people eating when you can't eat....or people enjoying the bread basket before a meal at a restaurant that serves bread (especially when you know how delicious it is!)

"In general I am a really positive person, but sometimes it really just sucks to be gluten-free." 'Nuff said! :)

"I’d say those social situations where someone thinks they have done you a favor are the hardest. And when someone takes a bite of an incredible sandwich, and they want to offer you a bite." Agreed. It is awful to know that a friend/family member really, really tried to take your diet needs into account....but to know that, somewhere in the preparation, a mistake was made. What do you do? Chance it? Or, turn it down? UGH!!!!!

"I hate feeling like a burden when I’m a guest." YES, a thousand times, YES!!!!!!!!

"What I hate more than anything is that gluten free eating has killed any spontaneity in my daily schedule. I hate planning my meals and researching every restaurant. I want to be in a rush, grab a sandwich, and keep on rushing. Why aren’t there more grab-and-go GF foods?" Being a rather busy person (I know we all are! :)), it really stinks not having many grab-and-go GF foods like a simple sandwich or something. Honestly, I go without lunch most days....or just snack on things that aren't as healthy or fulfilling as a good lunch. That probably doesn't make me the most productive or pleasant in the afternoons! :)

"It’s not like this all the time, obviously…but sometimes." It's not; it truly isn't. And, the longer I am on this diet, the easier it truly does become and the less "bad" days I have.

“a little bit won’t hurt you” Some people say this and/or ask related questions. No, no, no! Sorry!! A little bit, a lot....it doesn't matter about the quantity! I have gotten the sickest from the smallest amounts of gluten (from supposed cross-contamination).

I don't really mean this post to be as "negative" sounding as it is.....I just wanted to take the time to post a reaction to that blog post that I just discovered tonight :).

All in all, things are going well on the diet-front of life :). I did have a running mishap a few weeks ago that is surely due to gluten and some cross-contamination SOMEWHERE...if you dare (it's prettttty gross, as I am sure you can imagine!), go read it HERE: The Crappiest Run of My Life

:)

Have a wonderful day, all!

Rachel

Shout-out to my fabulous mother :)

So along this gluten free journey, there have definitely been some pretty definied ups and downs....the best part, though, has been the support of my super-amazing husband, family, and friends :).

My sister got married last Saturday (YAYYY!), and my mother...though there were dozens of other things to worry about....was totally on top of making sure there were ample things for me to eat from the moment I arrived at her house on Wednesday until I left to go back home last Sunday. She arranged for a friend to pick up Biaggi's take-out and bring it to the reception so I would have a safe meal to eat (shout-out to Jen as well for picking it up for me!). And, during the reception...my dad went out to get a bag with some GF brownies my mom had baked for me so I could have something to eat when everyone was eating the yummy gourmet cupcakes at the reception :). (I must add that the brownies were made using the relatively new Betty Crocker gluten free brownie mix....and were absolutely fabulous. I would HIGHLY recommend that baking mix...plus it is pretty widely available! Just here in Bloomington, I know you can find the Betty Crocker mixes at Cub and at Wal Mart, among other stores!).

She also made an awesome coffee cake using the Betty Crocker yellow cake mix....she basically prepared the cake mix, put half of it in a cake pan, put some butter/cinnamon/brown sugar mixture (the typical cinnamon-y coffee cake concoction stuff) in the middle, put the remaining cake batter on top, and added more of the butter/cinnamon/brown sugar, etc. mixture to the top along with some chopped pecans. It was divine! She made it for breakfast on Thursday morning and I ate it after returning from a 4-mile run with the bride-to-be. She also brought leftovers of it to the hotel where we got ready for the wedding on Saturday morning...which was also fantastic! :) I would definitely recommend experimenting with the apparently very versatile Betty Crocker yellow cake mix to make some yummy coffee cake concoctions!

So, thanks, Mom! You always take care of me! :)

Chunky Potato Soup Recipe

So, I subscribe to The Gluten Free Checklist...and get a GF recipe via e-mail each day. Today's looks great....I think I will definitely be trying this one! (However, I am a big baby and personally don't care for onions...I'll probably either omit them or use a lot less than 2 cups ;)).

Chunky Potato Soup
Ingredients
6 Tbs. butter
2 c. purple onion, sliced
2 medium carrots, chopped
3 Tbs. ARROWHEAD MILLS – white rice flour
1 qt. water 1 qt. IMAGINE - Organic Low Sodium Free Range Chicken Broth
4 c. red potatoes, peeled & cubed
1/2 c. heavy cream
3 Tbs. parsley, chopped
Coarse salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions
Melt 3 Tbs. butter in a 5 qt. stock pot. Add onions and cook slowly for 5 minutes without browning. Blend in gluten free flour and cook for 2 minutes. Gradually add water and chicken broth, stirring to prevent lumps. Add potatoes and carrots and bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and simmer partially covered for 45 minutes. While soup is simmering, stir in cream, parsley, remaining butter and salt & pepper to taste. Continue simmering to allow butter to melt and flavors to blend.

KIND bars free at Starbucks 2-5-10!

Hop over to your local Starbucks on Fri. Feb 5 to try KIND bars for free! I will vouch for these yummy bars' deliciousness! In fact, I had one for breakfast this very morning! :) :) I typically carry one-two of them in my work bag because they are so yummy, nutritious, and convenient to carry around. My personal favs are ANY of them with macadamia nuts in them! YUMMY to the maximal power!

"Surprisingly GOOD!"

...Thus said my dear loving husband....who tends to be skeptical at times of my GF creations ;). Tonight he made his delicious spaghetti sauce for our dinner...

I had one Schaar pizza crust left in my box of two and I decided to make some garlic toast (just spread on some melted butter that I mixed with garlic salt...not exactly rocket science!) in the toaster oven to go with our salad and spaghetti. I enjoyed my piece...and Jeremy looked at what was left on the serving plate and asked, "SO, is it good? Like, would I like it?" I told him I thought he might, so he tried it.

He actually told me (and he is PICKY about food!!) that it was really great, "Surprisingly good" were really his exact words...and he went on to say that I wasn't missing anything when I ate this, compared to "real" bread! So, if you are GF like me...hook yourself up!! :)

Clearly, this is versatile stuff and can be used for things other than just making pizza...it is not frozen, and it is sold 2 to a package. I've also used it as "toast" with (homemade from my mother) apple butter for breakfast! YUMMY!

Three cheers for Schaar! Definitely has the Rachel and Jeremy stamp of approval! :) :)

Awesome Christmas Gift--Namaste Baking Mixes!

Happy New Year!! Maybe I'll write more this year...and maybe I won't ;). We'll see!

I did, though, want to share about an awesome Christmas gift I received from my mother- and father-in-law: a gift certificate for Namaste food!

I used up the gift certificate shortly after Christmas and received the big box of food last week. I ordered a cookbook (it uses their mixes with a variety of added ingredients...some really great suggestions!), bread mix, brownie mix (I've had this one before...it's great!!), blondie mix, pizza crust mix, sugar-free muffin mix, pancake/waffle mix, and cookie mix. I made the blondies last night for a small dinner party we had with a couple of friends. They tasted pretty yummy! Oh a whim, I added some crushed pecans to the batter, and sprinkled some more crushed pecans and brown sugar on top. Success! :) (I just ate a leftover one a few minutes ago ;)).

I would highly recommend checking out the Namaste website....they have a ton of great products. They also have many of their products available here in Bloomington at Naturally Yours. I've also tried their Biscuit/Pie Crust mix (used it to make a great pie crust for pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, to rave reviews from my father-in-law ;)), and their Taco Pasta (comes with pasta and a seasoning packet; I added tomato soup and ground beef to it for a yummy dinner!). I have truly loved all of their products! :)

Namaste's website says, among other things, "...Our facility contains no wheat, gluten, corn, soy, potato, dairy or nuts. It is our attempt to try to eliminate any chance of cross-contamination so you can enjoy Namaste Foods products worry-free...." Awesome!! :) :)