Pesto Pizza

I decided to get out of the house on Saturday, so I made a trip to Whole Foods. I picked up several products that I'm excited about! One I received for free with a coupon, another was a new beauty product I'm trying, and the last one was this awesome GF pizza. (You'll have to wait to find out what was free and which body product I'm now semi-ly obsessed with after 4 days.)

Against the Grain Nut-Free Pesto Pizza

The pizza cost $11.99, but there are four servings which are generous portions. With Justin gone, that means I ate this pizza for dinner on Saturday, for dinner Sunday, and for dinner again tonight. Since I'm the only one eating this week, whatever I make feeds me almost the whole week. The pizza has no toppings, which you might see as either a positive or a negative. Positive = you can customize what toppings you would like; negative = more money and more time! I was lazy, but knew I wanted to add something to my pesto pizza, so I cut up some mushrooms for the top. Justin and I had bought this pizza before and put numerous toppings on it that time like chicken, onions, and spinach.

I cooked it on my pizza stone and it came out perfectly. I love the crust of this pizza! (I'm a hard person to please with GF pizza crust.) It's flavorful, has a real pizza dough texture, and its a good thickness: not too thin nor too thick.

I know this is something I can't afford to eat every week (not the money, but calorie wise), however its quick and easy to pull from the freezer when you need a fast meal. I remember trying other Against the Grain products at the GF Expo, I'll have to look for more at my next Whole Foods trip.

GF Chex Mix

I mentioned yesterday that over the weekend I made some gluten free Chex mix!

I had some Rice Chex on hand that I had opened a while ago and wanted to use up. To be honest, I don't eat Rice Chex plain as cereal, however I find it perfect for things like puppy chow and monster cookies! I'm trying not to waste as much these days, and this box had been open long enough to where it would soon be stale.  

With that said, I had the idea to make some Chex mix. In my recent online food deal, I ordered Glutino pretzels and Glutino bagel chips. (Although most of the bagel chips were eaten on Valentine's Day with the homemade humus.) I simply used the original recipe on the back of the Chex box with some slight modifications. 

Original Recipe calls for 3 cups of Rice Chex, 3 cups of Corn Chex, and 3 cups of Wheat Chex

• I used 9 cups of Rice Chex (Obviously no wheat, and I prefer the taste of Rice to Corn)

Recipe also called for 1 cup of mixed nuts

• I omitted the nuts, because I thought I had some at home but was mistaken

1 cup of pretzels

• I used 2 - 3 cups of Glutino GF pretzels

1 cup of garlic bagel chips

• The rest of the box of Glutino Bagel Chips went into my bowl!

I used my roaster pan to mix it all together and was able to bake straight in that pan too.

 For the sauce, I followed the recipe exactly. (Be sure to make sure your Worcestershire sauce is GF)

6	tablespoons butter
2	tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2	teaspoons seasoned salt
3/4	teaspoon garlic powder
1/2	teaspoon onion powder

I poured the mixture over, stirred until it was evenly mixed, and decided to bake it in the oven. It took an hour to bake at 250 degrees. Every 15 minutes I took it out to stir.

My aunt would make this every Christmas and mine tasted like hers, except no gluten! I still have a hefty bag full to finish.

When the hubby is away...

My hubby has been at training all last week and will be for most of the coming week. All of his AF gear has taken over the spare bedroom! 

Luckily, his training is here in San Antonio so he didn't have to go very far. I helped him pack all of his stuff and dropped him off last Sunday. I kept busy during the week working on a presentation for class, pretty much every night after work.

No worries while he was away, I found ways to pass the time. Friday after work, I went and got my hair trimmed. (Also seen in the picture: my newer glasses, which a couple weeks ago my hubby helped me pick out.)

I picked up some dinner to go from P.F. Chang's. I ordered the GF Singapore Street Noodles, which I wasn't overly impressed with. I don't know what it was specifically, I think the over all taste of them was not my favorite. I prefer my Pei Wei!

And who could resist the new Tom's ballet flats! 

All of these events were from Friday too! My Saturday consisted of a trip to Whole Foods and the making of my very on GF chex mix.

You've Got Mail!

Whenever I buy a Groupon or a Living Social deal I try to use it soon after I buy it, otherwise it lingers until close to the expiration date. I bought this one a few weeks ago and used it quickly after.

Here's a glimpse into my box...

I ordered two bags of Schar Cheese Bites! My sister, Kristen, bought some of these when I was in Michigan and I loved them. I haven't seen them too many places around here, so I figured I'd buy some with my deal. They make a great snack!

The bad part is there are only 4 servings in the bag, which means the bag goes like that! Justin and I both agreed that they taste like those little cheese Ritz cracker sandwiches, even if they don't have a cheesy center. They're not as cheesy or hard as Cheez-Its, and Goldfish are puffier and more hallow.

They also come in a variety of shapes!

Interested in Pinterest Yet?

Pinterest has really helped us come up with recipes lately. Check out vinegar potatoes here.

 Meet Zucchini stuffed with Italian Sausage

Justin agreed to make it, although he was skeptical from the start. But he followed the blog post step by step and didn't have any trouble. He wasn't sure about the removal of the seeds and wondered what it would taste like in the end. We agreed it tasted like lasagna because of the sausage and cheese. The tomatoes also added a sauce-like flavor. Justin and I were both impressed with the finished product.

Justin's final product

All of the ingredients are naturally gluten free. Of course, make sure you read the packages when picking out the Italian sausage.

I don't have pictures of each cooking step because I was cleaning while he was cooking!

We didn't have any other sides with dinner, unless you consider the drink one! Justin also served up a Hill Country Hot Tottie (similar to a bloody Mary).  That is another story, in itself, and would require another post dedicated just to that drink. The main ingredients are jalapeno wine (which we get when we go wine tasting in the Texas Hill Country) and spicy V-8 juice.

Brewhouse

Just wanted to start this post with a cute gift I received from a former student for Valentine's Day. It's a little love bug rose flower pot.

Last weekend Justin and I went out to dinner at BJ's Brewhouse. They're a chain that has a variety of gluten free selections. The GF options are listed on the regular menu or you can request your own allergen menu. The servers seemed pretty knowledgeable about GF because they are a mainstream part of the menu.

I started with their very own Berry Burst Cider. It's a little sweet for my liking to drink on a regular occasion, but I can guarantee you anytime we go here I will order it. It's unique and it's different from the usual options of restaurants: Woodchuck and Redbridge. It almost tastes like wine because of its luscious berry flavor.

Justin and I decided to split everything. We started with the Italian Market Salad, which was a tasteful choice. It is filled with fresh mozzarella, salami, artichokes, garbanzo beans, red onions, tomatoes, red peppers, cucumbers, olives, and a delicious vinaigrette. I definitely want to try to replicate my own version of this at home.

Their pizza is okay; the crust is very thin and lacks flavor. Justin said it reminded him of Tony's frozen pizzas. You know those pizzas you can buy for 99 cents. While the crust fails to impress, the toppings are delicious. We picked sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, and onions. The only bad part is each topping costs $1.00 extra. You may recall a very long time ago, we ordered a to-go pizza from BJ's without ever having had the restaurant experience: look here. Back then I wasn't overly impressed with their pizza but appreciated that the restaurant offered a GF option because there still aren't that many pizza places around here with GF options.

So let me say this: the best part of BJ's is their GF Chocolate Chip Pizookie. If you're GF, you're probably used to your dessert options at chain restaurants being only ice cream. This pizza-cookie is served warmed and tastes on point. I even asked myself, is this really gluten free?

All four of these components make me love BJ's Brewhouse. 

GF drink + delicious flavorful salad + GF pizza + AMAZING GF dessert = a recommended restaurant

They also offer other GF options for dinner if you're not in the mood for salad or pizza. Heck, I would go just for the cider and the dessert! 

Now they just need to brew their own GF beer...one can dream, right?

V-day at Home

I can't believe last year was my first GF Valentine's Day. I feel like I've been GF for years, so for any newbies out there: it definitely gets easier.

For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to tutor after the class Valentine's party today. (What was I thinking? candy + cupcakes + soda = a not focused tutoring group.) I waited around for kids to be picked up. Then I prepared sub plans for tomorrow because I have some training all day. I knew I would be home late and told Justin I just wanted to eat something at home. My hubby is seriously the best!

I came home to roses!

I also received a card and a special dessert. Can you guess what the dessert is?

A (small 6") Sweetheart cake from Little Aussie!

 Justin made some tortilla chips from left over frozen corn tortillas.

He also made some homemade humus! Both recipes are from the Simply Sugar & Gluten Free Cookbook. A perfect treat to fill my hungry belly while the rest was being prepared.

Then he made a Greek salad with fresh tomatoes, red peppers, cucumbers, red onion, feta, olive oil, oregano, and some lemon juice. It was so fresh, light, and flavorful.

Finally he made some baked tilapia with fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, and onion.

There was dessert too! Doesn't it look so decedent?

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, and oh yeah gluten free too. Got to love Little Aussie's cakes!

Served with a little ice cream and more left for later.

You Guys Want Some Pistachios?

I'm trying to ween my chip dependency, but some days I still need something salty. Meet my friend pistachios.

49 pistachios are equivalent to the calories in 13 potato chips!

Plus, pistachios are naturally gluten free

Get crackin'

Super Bowl Snacks: Part 2

A Pinterest inspired recipe for the Super Bowl! 

Salt and Vinegar Broiled Fingerling Potatoes

Start with 2 cups of vinegar to boil

The original recipe calls for fingerling potatoes but I couldn't find any at the commissary so I had to improvise with regular Russet potatoes. I actually only used 2 Russet potatoes and cut them into thin strips.

I brought the vinegar to a boil then simmered liked the recipe called for. However, I noticed that these potatoes took a little longer to cook. They probably took a good 5-10 minutes longer of simmering. Next you let the potatoes cool for about 30 minutes in the vinegar.

 I drained them, patted dry with a paper towel, and placed them into a Ziploc bag. I poured olive oil, salt, and pepper without measuring any of it. I was pretty generous in my amounts. Shake.

I only have a small broiler pan, so I tried to squeeze all the slices on it in a single layer.

Then I broiled them like the recipe called for, 7 minutes on one side and 5 on the other. Again, they seemed to need longer to brown.

I kept a close eye to make sure the potatoes didn't burn, but waited for them to turn a golden brown.

Justin grilled some ribs too, so these made a nice pair. 

The salt and vinegar potatoes were definitely different from the usual fry. They were salty and pungent, yet a refreshing take on the chip version. If you like salt and vinegar chips, I recommend you try these!

Super Bowl Snacks: Part 1

Simple Taco Seasoning Dip: 1 of several finger foods we enjoyed during the Super Bowl.

3 Main Ingredients for the base are cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning

First soften cream cheese a little. (I left it sit out for a bit before making the dip.) Then mix equal parts cream cheese and sour cream; I mixed 8 oz. of each. Do not use the whole packet of taco seasoning, it will be too much. I probably used about 2 - 3 tablespoons. My recommendation would be to add a little then taste, that way you can add more if need be. Using a hand mixer allows the cream cheese to mix better with the sour cream.

Spread the mixture into a container. Ideally a pizza pan would make it look the best and would spread it out a little thinner, but I wanted to use a container with a lid. As a result, it was a little thicker than I would've liked.

Sprinkle with cheese to cover the cream cheese mixture.

Then layer with vegetables of your choice. I like to use tomatoes, green onions and black olives. I don't really care for black olives but I use them because they add more color. I can tolerate them while I'm eating the dip as well because there are other flavors that overpower them. I'm sure you can add some refried beans as a bottom layer too. The nice thing about this dip is that you can make it your own and it's fairly simple (because it doesn't consist of 7 layers!)

We bought these Jalapeno tortilla chips to use in the dip.

GF!

I'll leave you with an Imported from Detroit commercial.