Yummy Filled Donuts

While in Michigan, my mom's co-worker told her about a store in Rochester Hills called Celiac Specialties. My mom insisted that we check it out since it's really not that far from my parent's house. I looked at the website before to see if anything caught my eye. I'm glad I did because I saw donuts filled with jelly and custard on the site. I haven't come across any filled donuts since being gluten free, so I was excited about the prospect to try some. When I went to the store, I couldn't find them but I asked a worker about them. She didn't have any out but went and found some in the back! I was happy that I looked at the website before because I could've totally missed out on these donuts. I picked out two raspberry filled donuts and two custard filled donuts. 

They came frozen which is nice because then you don't have to worry about eating them all at once. I pulled out one of each flavor and put them in the refrigerator the day before I wanted to eat them. The powdered sugar comes on the side, which makes sense because of them being sold frozen.

I just dabbed powdered sugar all over and felt like I did a decent job. Doesn't it look like a regular gluten filled donut?

A gluten free jelly filled donut! The donut was a delightful treat that I usually don't consume. The dough had an airiness to it, but was soft and had a good consistency. I thought these were a good reproduction for a donut.

The custard filled donut came with chocolate frosting on the side.

 I didn't do the best job of frosting this one. Ok, it looks pretty pathetic, but it's more about flavor than looks!


The chocolate and the custard was the perfect pair. I don't think I can say I liked one flavor better than the other. The two kinds I picked were different, yet I enjoyed each equally. I recommend these donuts and look forward to eating more in the future!

Their croissant rolls are also highly recommended. I brought some to Wisconsin where Kristen and I made some great turkey and ham sandwiches from them.

Gluten Free Italian Cheese Bread

Time to catch up! About a month ago I went to Little Aussie and bought some pre-cooked pizza crusts. (Remember the cranberry bread, it was that same trip.) I debated what kind of pizza to make, when I came up with a brilliant idea. Does any one recall Little Caesar's Pizza Kits? My parents would buy the fund raising pizzas, and I preferred the Italian Cheese Bread. I decided to make my own version of the Italian Cheese Bread. 

I started with my pre-made gluten free crust from Little Aussie. I truly believe finding the right crust is half the battle in making the cheese bread delicious. Their pizza crust is thicker than most, while very moist.

I didn't measure, but I used enough mozzarella cheese to cover the area of the crust. The crust was a more personal size pizza so I didn't even use a whole bag of shredded cheese.

Then I used my Italian Herb grinder and went to town turning and cranking to generously cover all areas. Again, it's hard to measure with a grinder, but I probably used about a teaspoon. You can add as much or as little as you want. Then I popped it in the over for about 20 minutes.

While the cheese bread was cooking, I melted one tablespoon of butter. I mixed in about a 1/4 teaspoon of minced garlic that we buy in a jar and keep in the fridge. I'm sure powdered garlic would work too.

The cheese bread should come out with a nice golden hue.

I used a basting brush to spread the butter mixture all over the melted cheesy goodness.

I cut my Italian Cheese Bread, and enjoyed it. I thought my version tasted very similar to the kits we used to make. Plus it was simple to make since I already had all the ingredients at home. I would really recommend trying this if you come across an excellent gluten free pizza crust.

Painting with a Twist

Since I am in my final semester for my master's degree, I have to pass comprehensive exams. I received the questions on Friday and have three weeks to answer them. I spent most of my weekend writing and researching, but I did find some opportunities to have some fun.

On Friday I went to Painting with a Twist with a friend from class.

We enjoyed some wine while we painted.

Our masterpiece was a Starry Night in San Antonio.

The class was fantastic and they walk you through how to do everything. I definitely want to do it again. There are some in Michigan, so if anyone wants to go with me when I'm home.

Justin already committed to going sometime with me down here and I have to go with Genevieve again, because it will be my turn to bring the wine. So there will be more art work classes in my future.

My posts lately haven't been too much about eating gluten free. So I thought I would throw this gem in this post. I used up a Groupon to the Little Aussie Bakery this weekend that was about to expire. I bought some cranberry bread that I haven't tried before.

I don't think I've eaten this much bread in a long time! I devoured half the loaf and really didn't want to admit it. At least I have been working out routinely.

Gluten Replacement

So I'm sitting here half watching TV and half playing on my computer (I was supposed to be cleaning.) When all the sudden during a commercial I hear "gluten free." I'm used to the Chex commercial, which I love.

But this was definitely a different commercial. There was a man riding a bike with bread on his head. Luckily I have a DVR so I was able to rewind and watch it over!

Intrigued, I began to look for more information and came across this on Dow's website.

Being Celiac Awareness Month, it's good to see more awareness on TV. While I like the idea, I do have lots of questions about this plant based replacement. I know Dow is a chemical company, so I wonder how natural a gluten replacement would be. But some delicious tasting bread would be nice too. Are there any companies using this ingredient? I really just saw this commercial 15 minutes ago, so I really haven't had much time to research it...but I was excited about the idea. Anyone know anything else about it?

Also...Happy Birthday to my GF sister! Love you and hope you were able to enjoy a gluten free cake.

Late Night Treat

I usually don't eat much gluten free bread. But for whatever reason this weekend, I felt the need to make some late night cheese bread. 

I followed the simple directions on the back of the box. I only had to add oil, cheese, eggs, and water.

I think the cheese is what makes these so amazing.

These aren't an exact replica of the bread at Fogo, but an easy version to enjoy at home.

The bread is delicious when it is warm out of the oven. The left overs taste amazing in the microwave for a few seconds too.

Monsters of All Kinds

Monster sandwich! Justin is the best club sandwich maker and made these a few weeks ago. He used Rudi's multi-grain bread (we snagged some coupons at the GF Expo and they sell it at the commissary), pickles, cheese, ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato, bacon, mustard, and topped off with cherry peppers stuffed with yellow tomatoes.

I also couldn't resist posting this picture of Iivana and our Christmas tree either. She was so frightened that her hair was sticking straight up on her back. She barked at it for a good 2 minutes. Then she slowly approached the tree and to sniff it. Eventually she figured out it was okay; the tree is now up in the house and there is no more barking.

Homework Break

I told Justin I had a ton of homework to do this weekend, so we had to lay low. I have a literature review due in 2 weeks and haven't really started yet, so I had to spend some time this weekend working on it. Even though I've been reading on and off all day, I have yet to write anything. In fact, I still need to read through a few more articles before I commence writing.

My birthday was on Thursday the 29th of September, so last weekend we went to Dallas for my 27th birthday, the GF Expo, and the Lions vs. Cowboys football game. The weekend was awesome!

We opted to fly there because we scored a great deal on plane tickets. The only bad part was that we left Saturday morning at 6:00 am! Here's Justin on the bus to the rental car place.

We started off breakfast at the Kozy Kitchen. We arrived before they even opened, but needed a full breakfast before we hit up the Expo.

Justin ordered the "Hangover Helper" which consisted of grass fed buffalo, eggs, basil guacamole, and mushrooms. Although we weren't hungover, it was fresh, delicious, and filling. We actually could've shared this because both of our choices were huge.

Our breakfasts were filling because they were packed with fresh vegetables. I ordered the "Veggie Connection" which was an open-face omelet stacked with various in-season vegetables. Yes, I ordered eggs! I've been eating eggs a little bit more, as long as their masked with plenty of "stuff" like vegetables or meat.

Then we made our way over to the Gluten and Allergen Free Expo. We bought tickets for the vendor fair to check out different products.

I only took a few pictures...I probably could've taken one at each booth. I ate so many samples of sweets and junk food that was all GF! These chicken tenders were awesome! They are even at Disney World; I think Justin and I will need a trip to Disney World soon.

Dallas area Subway's have gluten free buns! The other day in class, it seemed everyone around me was eating Subway...how I longed for one after smelling everyone's sandwiches.

Who doesn't love Woodchuck cider? They even had a new pumpkin, which is the perfect fall drink. In fact, we picked some up after dinner last night at Central Market. I was able to enjoy one today!

Like I said, I didn't get pictures of all my favorite booths. I signed up for a two year subscription for Living Without Magazine. We also bought a cookbook that the author signed for me. I'll post more about it when we try some of the recipes. I sampled some Udi's Snickerdoodle cookies, which are even better than their chocolate chip cookies. I picked up some awesome Pamela's samples that I've never tried. I've been taking a sample of something different in my lunch everyday. I've been trying some products, I've never had before!

After we had enough of the Expo, we needed some lunch. Since I've been so deprived of Subway, I convinced Justin to go to there. Plus, we had a dollar off coupon that we wouldn't be able to use anywhere else. You can see the GF rolls are in a sealed package in the right hand corner.

 The girl changed her gloves and cut the bun with a new plastic knife. I ordered a turkey sandwich with all my favorite veggies.

We took them back to the hotel to eat. The buns were pretty good too, they were soft and had an okay consistency. It was great to have some Subway...now if only all Subways would get GF buns.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency! 

The balance of veggies, meat, and bun was perfect together!

 I also bought some bread mixes. The brown bread mix should bake a bread that we can make Reuben  sandwiches from! I'll let you know how it goes.

After lunch that Saturday, we were exhausted! We took a nap before heading out for my birthday dinner. (I'll hopefully post tomorrow about that and the rest of our weekend.)

Breakdown of the Weekend

Friday
I was supposed to work a half day and attend a meeting in the afternoon. When I arrived to school, I was told the sub who had picked up my job earlier in the week, dropped it last night. This was exactly what I was afraid when I requested an afternoon only sub on a Friday. I had contemplated taking the whole day, but when the job was picked up, I felt I was safe. Wrong.

I was frantic the whole morning, hoping they would find someone to cover. It didn't help that three other people called in and aides were filling in for their classes. I pleaded with the secretary to find someone because I wanted to go the meeting badly. The professional development meeting was at UTSA and was funded by a grant. At 11:15 the secretary buzzed me on the P.A. and announced I could go!

I am a spaz. I grabbed all my things and rushed to my car so I could arrive on time. Then I realized I left my phone in my desk, so I ran back into the school and up the stairs. Yes, I am a good role model, running in the school. You might be able to guess what happened next...I wiped out on the stairs, landing on my arm. This whole ordeal was witnessed by two other teachers. Embarrassing, yes! They asked if I was okay, my response was, "Yeah, I'm trying to do too much at once!" I was fine, although my arm feels a little bruised.

My day only got better! The professional development was awesome and I love grants. Check out what they gave me.

• 5 Flip Cameras
• An external drive
• A freaking computer!
• An English Language Learners book

My students are going to be so excited when I tell them what I got for our classroom.

After work we met Justin's ALS (Airman Leadership School) classmates at Red Robin. They had an allergen menu, although mostly everything was minus a bun. I ended up getting a chicken sandwich on lettuce with melon slices. It was decent, I was just glad to have something I could eat there. But I did forgot to take a picture.

Saturday

Bum - summarizes my morning and afternoon.

Saturday night we stopped at Target and then went to the movies to see Water for Elephants. They have the best Coke machines there, where you can pick any kind of soda Coke makes. You could spend an hour trying all the flavors. 

Sunday

Breakfast:

Waffles

Lunch:

Fluffernutter Sandwich

Toasted Udi's white bread, JIF peanut butter, & marshmallow fluff

Dinner:

Tandoori tofu with wild rice and vegetables

We found this recipe in "Eat Healthy Your Way" magazine which we picked up from the commissary. If you're interested you can find the recipe here. It was something totally different than we usually eat. The sauce was my favorite part. I like tofu, but it was a little squishy. I think next time Justin is going to pan fry it and then coat it in the sauce. I would recommend it though!

Happy mother's day to my amazing mom, I wish I could've spent the day with you!