3 Ocak 2013 Perşembe

What's for lunch this week?

To contact us Click HERE


Brie & cranberry panini, cucumbers with ranch dressing, blueberries
For our wedding anniversary this year, Alfie got me a panini press.  I know, it doesn't sound very romantic, but whenever I use it, it brings back memories of our lovely trip to Bruges this summer, eating panini and sipping espresso at a sidewalk cafe, so it's actually quite a romantic present.  Plus, it makes awesome panini.  Our poor grilled cheese sandwich maker is sitting in a cupboard, gathering dust!



 Blueberry bagel & cream cheese, mini carrots, grapes

 Leftover pizza, cherry tomatoes, blackberries

 Chef's salad, savory trail mix, blackberries & pineapple chunks

Turkey croissant sandwich, grapes, assorted cookies

Pin It

Share this :

What's for lunch this week? Cookies!

To contact us Click HERE


Okay, not really.  I've just decided to give myself a break from posting lunch photos since this is the last week of school before the winter break.  So instead of a nutritious, well-balanced meal I'm treating everyone to a photo of two sugar cookie snowmen that we made recently (note to self: never use Nerds for snowman eyes or mouth because they will melt in the oven and the snowman will come out looking like a zombie snowman).

I'll resume my lunch photo posts when school returns in January.  Until then, happy holidays and happy feasting!


Pin It

Share this :

Van's Products Package Changes and enter to WIN a FREE COUPON!!!

To contact us Click HERE
Hi everyone! I hope April is treating you all well! We've been having one hell of a month, let me tell you! Phew! These 3 weeks of April have felt like 3 months!!

Well, I have exciting news to fill everyone in on. We all know how I LOVE Van's gluten free waffles, right? I have a SERIOUS love affair with the mini's, especially! I adore them and am never without a box in my freezer. I have been informed that Van's will be updating their packaging!! Here is a sneak peek for everyone:


Love it!! I want to assure everyone that just because the package is changing, does not mean the delicious goodies on the inside are changing! I know too well (see the Milky Way incident) that those of us who are gluten free need to be incredibly wary and suspicious of any potential reformulations! But nothing is changing, other than the amazingly enticing picture on the front!

Keep an eye out for this new package! They should be slowly rolling out in stores anytime now or within the next couple of weeks. Van's has also launched a new website and a blog so check it out here!


Okay, now down to how you can WIN a free (yes, FREE) coupon for a box of Van's products!!

To enter to win you can do any of the following:


1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me which of Van's Products is your absolute FAVE! Perhaps the mini's like me? Or the gluten free apple cinnamon waffles? Maybe their gluten free french toasts sticks? Or maybe you just can't narrow it down and you love them all!!


2. Post on your blog about this giveaway and link back here! (please leave a comment or drop me an email at gfsteph@gmail.com with a link to the post)


3. Tweet the following: RT @GF_Steph Van's Super New Packaging & enter to win a FREE coupon! http://tinyurl.com/3x5x47d


4. This is for the super faithful: Send me a pic of yourself holding a box of your favorite Van's product! If you do this, you are so hardcore that I will give you TWO entries!


Hurry though, you'll only have until THURSDAY, APRIL 29TH at midnight to enter!! On Friday, I'll choose FIVE WINNERS and announce them here! So don't forget to check back!!

It's Back!!! Gluten Free Jubilee at Sprouts!!

To contact us Click HERE
It's that time again, folks!!!! Gluten Free Jubilee at Sprouts!

May is Autism Awareness month at Sprouts and in honor of that, they are offering 25% off all gluten free products starting April 28th and continuing until June 2nd!!!



Stop by your local Sprouts and stock up on all your favorite gluten free goodies! (including Van's products...have you entered to win a coupon for a FREE box yet!?!) While you're there, you can also elect to donote to Autism Speaks!! Spread the word!

Winners of the Van's Free Coupons!!

To contact us Click HERE
Thanks to everyone who participated! The odds of winning were fantastic--everyone who entered won!! Yaaay!

So here's all the winners:

Blogger Entrants:

Michelle and Lauren

Twitter Entrants:

@kimicalg
@jenniferGFinGA

And yes, I said there would be 5 winners, but only 4 people entered! So I guess the last winner is...me!! Hooray! :)

To all the winners: Please email me your address at gfsteph@gmail.com or if on Twitter, please send it to me in a DM! I hope you all enjoy your free gluten free waffles/pancakes/french toast sticks! I know I will. :)

2 Ocak 2013 Çarşamba

Cornbread Dressing with Smoked Bacon and Pecans From Texas Recipes

To contact us Click HERE

1/2 cup pecan halves
4 ounces smoked bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup diced onions
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
4 green onions, chopped
Classic Cornbread, crumbled (recipe below)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram
6 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°.

Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Remove from oven.

Increase oven temperature to 375°.

Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat 5 to 6 minutes. (Do not crisp.) Remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in Dutch oven.

Sauté diced onion and next 2 ingredients in hot drippings 8 minutes or until tender. Stir in green onions; sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Add bacon, cornbread, and next 3 ingredients. Stir together melted butter and broth, and stir into cornbread mixture. Add salt and pepper. Fold in pecans.

Spoon dressing into a buttered, shallow 2-qt. baking dish; cover with aluminum foil.

Bake, covered, at 375° for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven, and uncover.

Transfer oven rack to highest position. Bake dressing, uncovered, 12 minutes or until top is crusty.


Classic Cornbread

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter, melted and divided
3 tablespoons warm bacon drippings, divided
1 1/2 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°.

Place 1 Tbsp. melted butter and 1 Tbsp. bacon drippings in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet; heat in oven 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, sift together cornmeal and next 5 ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together egg and both milks; whisk into cornmeal mixture just until combined.

Whisk in remaining 3 Tbsp. butter and 2 Tbsp. drippings. Pour into hot skillet.

Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until golden brown and firm.

Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan, and serve. Or cool completely in pan on a wire rack (about 1 hour).

Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries From Texas Recipes

To contact us Click HERE
Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries

Ingredients:

3 c powdered sugar
1/4 c margarine or butter
1/4 c condensed sweetened milk (not evaporated)
4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 pkg high end chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, or dark)
1 jar(s) maraschino cherries, drained and dried, reserve the juice.

Directions:

Combine the first 5 ingrediants until smooth and no longer sticky (you're escentially making a fondant). Place finished fondant into fridge for 1 hour.

Spread cherries onto a large cookie sheet covered in wax paper, and place in FREEZER for 1 hour. NOTE: If your cherries have stems, LEAVE THE STEMS ON as it makes the dipping process easier.

Remove the tray from freezer and the fondant from fridge ONLY IF YOU"RE READY TO USE THEM IMMEDIATELY....I highly suggest only taking small portions from the fondant bowl in the fridge at a time, as the fondant needs to be firm in order to make your cherries, and it gets ooey gooey quickly!!!

Scoop 1-2 tsp filling around a cherry and roll into a tight ball.

Place cherry on the wax paper covered cookie sheet again, and do this with the remaining cherries.

Place the cookie sheet and cherries back into the FREEZER for 1 hour.

NOTE: Don't worry if your balls don't come out perfect right away, once they've been in the freezer a while, you can re-shape them very easily to make them perfect.

Melt chocolate.

Add enough of the reserved cherry juice to thin the chocolate and make it easy for dipping the cherries.

Once again, only take a few cherries at a time out of the freezer so they withstand the dipping process. (I placed a small square of wax paper on my counter, and did 6 cherries at a time until they were finished.)

Dip each cherry in the chocolate and coat completely.

If you still have stems on the cherries, this will make your job much easier. If not, I was able to use a toothpick and found it very simple.

Skewer the cherry with the toothpick, place it in the bowl, and using a spoon, spoon the chocolate to coat the cherry.

Carefully lift the cherry out with the toothpick, let the excess chocolate dribble off, and place the cherry on the wax paper.

Use your toothpick to add a tiny bit of chocolate to the top of the cherry where the toothpick hole is (cover the hole).

You can also use this time to make a quick decrative swirl on top using the toothpick.

Once all of the cherries are coated, place sheet in the refrigerator to set.

Let them set for at least an hour.

CAREFULLY remove them from the waxed paper and place them in an airtight container using waxed paper if you make more than one layer of cherries.

Store them in a cool dry area for up to 2 weeks. (If you let them sit 3-6 days, you will end up with that wonderful liquid center that you find in store-bought chocolate covered cherries!!!).

Van's Products Package Changes and enter to WIN a FREE COUPON!!!

To contact us Click HERE
Hi everyone! I hope April is treating you all well! We've been having one hell of a month, let me tell you! Phew! These 3 weeks of April have felt like 3 months!!

Well, I have exciting news to fill everyone in on. We all know how I LOVE Van's gluten free waffles, right? I have a SERIOUS love affair with the mini's, especially! I adore them and am never without a box in my freezer. I have been informed that Van's will be updating their packaging!! Here is a sneak peek for everyone:


Love it!! I want to assure everyone that just because the package is changing, does not mean the delicious goodies on the inside are changing! I know too well (see the Milky Way incident) that those of us who are gluten free need to be incredibly wary and suspicious of any potential reformulations! But nothing is changing, other than the amazingly enticing picture on the front!

Keep an eye out for this new package! They should be slowly rolling out in stores anytime now or within the next couple of weeks. Van's has also launched a new website and a blog so check it out here!


Okay, now down to how you can WIN a free (yes, FREE) coupon for a box of Van's products!!

To enter to win you can do any of the following:


1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me which of Van's Products is your absolute FAVE! Perhaps the mini's like me? Or the gluten free apple cinnamon waffles? Maybe their gluten free french toasts sticks? Or maybe you just can't narrow it down and you love them all!!


2. Post on your blog about this giveaway and link back here! (please leave a comment or drop me an email at gfsteph@gmail.com with a link to the post)


3. Tweet the following: RT @GF_Steph Van's Super New Packaging & enter to win a FREE coupon! http://tinyurl.com/3x5x47d


4. This is for the super faithful: Send me a pic of yourself holding a box of your favorite Van's product! If you do this, you are so hardcore that I will give you TWO entries!


Hurry though, you'll only have until THURSDAY, APRIL 29TH at midnight to enter!! On Friday, I'll choose FIVE WINNERS and announce them here! So don't forget to check back!!

It's Back!!! Gluten Free Jubilee at Sprouts!!

To contact us Click HERE
It's that time again, folks!!!! Gluten Free Jubilee at Sprouts!

May is Autism Awareness month at Sprouts and in honor of that, they are offering 25% off all gluten free products starting April 28th and continuing until June 2nd!!!



Stop by your local Sprouts and stock up on all your favorite gluten free goodies! (including Van's products...have you entered to win a coupon for a FREE box yet!?!) While you're there, you can also elect to donote to Autism Speaks!! Spread the word!

Winners of the Van's Free Coupons!!

To contact us Click HERE
Thanks to everyone who participated! The odds of winning were fantastic--everyone who entered won!! Yaaay!

So here's all the winners:

Blogger Entrants:

Michelle and Lauren

Twitter Entrants:

@kimicalg
@jenniferGFinGA

And yes, I said there would be 5 winners, but only 4 people entered! So I guess the last winner is...me!! Hooray! :)

To all the winners: Please email me your address at gfsteph@gmail.com or if on Twitter, please send it to me in a DM! I hope you all enjoy your free gluten free waffles/pancakes/french toast sticks! I know I will. :)

1 Ocak 2013 Salı

What's for lunch this week? Cookies!

To contact us Click HERE


Okay, not really.  I've just decided to give myself a break from posting lunch photos since this is the last week of school before the winter break.  So instead of a nutritious, well-balanced meal I'm treating everyone to a photo of two sugar cookie snowmen that we made recently (note to self: never use Nerds for snowman eyes or mouth because they will melt in the oven and the snowman will come out looking like a zombie snowman).

I'll resume my lunch photo posts when school returns in January.  Until then, happy holidays and happy feasting!


Pin It

Share this :

Holiday Muppet Memories

To contact us Click HERE


I think I learned the words to the Twelve Days of Christmas from watching John Denver sing it with The Muppets in their 1979 holiday special.  Those were in the days when The Muppet Show aired on TV every week, and we watched it the way kids watch Phineas and Ferb today.  My aunt had the holiday special taped on videocassette (anyone remember Sony Betamax?)  so we could, and did, watch it again and again, year after year.   My cousins and I would sing it incessantly, aping (or should I say piggying?) Miss Piggy's part to perfection:  "Five.... Gooooooolden Riiiiiiiings!........ PADAM-PAM!!!"   Christmas just isn't complete for me without singing this song:





We also adored Miss Piggy's Christmas is Coming song.  Singing it became something of a holiday tradition for us.  Alfie tells me the correct pronounciation is HAPEny, not HA-penny like Miss Piggy says it, but since we had no idea what a ha'penny was anyway, it didn't stop us from singing it from the tops of our lungs.



Here are a couple more recent, but just as hilarious, Muppet videos for your holiday enjoyment:





Pin It
Share this :

Van's Products Package Changes and enter to WIN a FREE COUPON!!!

To contact us Click HERE
Hi everyone! I hope April is treating you all well! We've been having one hell of a month, let me tell you! Phew! These 3 weeks of April have felt like 3 months!!

Well, I have exciting news to fill everyone in on. We all know how I LOVE Van's gluten free waffles, right? I have a SERIOUS love affair with the mini's, especially! I adore them and am never without a box in my freezer. I have been informed that Van's will be updating their packaging!! Here is a sneak peek for everyone:


Love it!! I want to assure everyone that just because the package is changing, does not mean the delicious goodies on the inside are changing! I know too well (see the Milky Way incident) that those of us who are gluten free need to be incredibly wary and suspicious of any potential reformulations! But nothing is changing, other than the amazingly enticing picture on the front!

Keep an eye out for this new package! They should be slowly rolling out in stores anytime now or within the next couple of weeks. Van's has also launched a new website and a blog so check it out here!


Okay, now down to how you can WIN a free (yes, FREE) coupon for a box of Van's products!!

To enter to win you can do any of the following:


1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me which of Van's Products is your absolute FAVE! Perhaps the mini's like me? Or the gluten free apple cinnamon waffles? Maybe their gluten free french toasts sticks? Or maybe you just can't narrow it down and you love them all!!


2. Post on your blog about this giveaway and link back here! (please leave a comment or drop me an email at gfsteph@gmail.com with a link to the post)


3. Tweet the following: RT @GF_Steph Van's Super New Packaging & enter to win a FREE coupon! http://tinyurl.com/3x5x47d


4. This is for the super faithful: Send me a pic of yourself holding a box of your favorite Van's product! If you do this, you are so hardcore that I will give you TWO entries!


Hurry though, you'll only have until THURSDAY, APRIL 29TH at midnight to enter!! On Friday, I'll choose FIVE WINNERS and announce them here! So don't forget to check back!!

It's Back!!! Gluten Free Jubilee at Sprouts!!

To contact us Click HERE
It's that time again, folks!!!! Gluten Free Jubilee at Sprouts!

May is Autism Awareness month at Sprouts and in honor of that, they are offering 25% off all gluten free products starting April 28th and continuing until June 2nd!!!



Stop by your local Sprouts and stock up on all your favorite gluten free goodies! (including Van's products...have you entered to win a coupon for a FREE box yet!?!) While you're there, you can also elect to donote to Autism Speaks!! Spread the word!

Winners of the Van's Free Coupons!!

To contact us Click HERE
Thanks to everyone who participated! The odds of winning were fantastic--everyone who entered won!! Yaaay!

So here's all the winners:

Blogger Entrants:

Michelle and Lauren

Twitter Entrants:

@kimicalg
@jenniferGFinGA

And yes, I said there would be 5 winners, but only 4 people entered! So I guess the last winner is...me!! Hooray! :)

To all the winners: Please email me your address at gfsteph@gmail.com or if on Twitter, please send it to me in a DM! I hope you all enjoy your free gluten free waffles/pancakes/french toast sticks! I know I will. :)