Teachers On Hiatus!

You can tell that Lisa and I are teachers because as soon as school starts up again, we fall off the face of the Earth! Sorry that we have been M.I.A. for a few weeks. We are just trying to get back into the groove of things, which is easier said than done.
School has been in session for a few weeks now, and I'm already struggling with lunch ideas. I've been on the hummus/lunch meat roll up/left overs rotation as of late. I'm not a huge fan of packing sandwiches mainly because they aren't as tasty when they've been in the fridge the night before and lunch is at 12:30. I made a GF pizza with the Chebe dough that I talked about in a previous blog (and made some improvements, more on that another time) and there were NO leftovers...which is a sign of a fabulous meal. However, I stared longingly into my refrigerator tonight as it was that time to pack lunch for tomorrow. I didn't want hummus or lunch meat again. I was spacing out and gazing over at some taco shells on a shelf and had the idea of salsa and chips! Yes! Something new! Hopefully, this will change up my rotation and make me a wee bit more excited for lunches again. My hope is to do a little hunting and pondering in the grocery store this week so see if I am inspired with any new ideas.

Enjoy the rest of your week!
--Mandy

Checking Out Udi's Buns! No Pun Intended!!

With the return to the every day grind, AKA back to school/work, I didn't feel much like cooking this week.  Here's an easy and delicious family friendly meal, actually planned by my husband.   He doesn't ever cook or plan out any meals, so this was a rare event in my household.  My husband wanted pork BBQ sandwiches.  I thought this sounds fine, but I'll just eat it bun less.  Yes, I'm aware of the other gf buns, they are all sitting in my freezer uneaten.  I really haven't found anything decent, at least up to this point.   Andy came back from the store with pork BBQ, Udi's GF buns, veggie salad and Organique chips.  Everything was delicious and effortless on my part.   I really enjoyed the hamburger buns.  They actually tasted pretty good.  Since they were frozen, I ended up putting them in the microwave for 20 seconds than toasting them so they wouldn't taste soggy.   It was great to feel like I was eating a real pork BBQ sandwich, the chips were a great addition too!  

Quick and delicious!

Snacking It Smart

So as some may know, Lisa and I are both teachers and it's that sad time when we go back to school. Over the summer I was able to explore the tasty world of GF snacks. Now I love eating fruit or hummus or veggies with dip any day. Sometimes, though, I need a change up. Not only that, but I like to have something that I can just grab and nibble on. Here are some tasty treats that I came up with.

• KIND bars are super good with a ton of variety. They have flavors like Almond and Coconut to Walnut and Date to Fruit and Nut. Yes, these bars have nuts in them, so nut allergy friends stay away! They are gluten and dairy free. They can be found at Wegmans in single bar packs or in bulk. If you visit their website, you can buy variety packs. http://www.kindsnacks.com/health-benefits/gluten-free-bars
• Garden of Eatin makes awesome tortilla chips. I prefer the blue corn chips. Please be careful for they do make a "Wholesome" type of chip which DOES contain gluten. I made the mistake of eating those once....not a good idea. That little experience reminds me now to try to check, double check, and triple check labels.
• Wegman's Fruit Flats come in a few different flavors and are made with fruit juice and fruit. These little bars have a serving of fruit in each. They are nice when you need something to eat really quick or when you're surrounded by food that you cannot have. I try to keep one in my purse just in case I need it. They are not too pricey either.
• A classic snack that you can have is Cracker Jack! Frito-Lay's website has these little bundles of sweet joy labeled as gluten free! Hooray! Great for when you have a slight sweet tooth mid afternoon.
• I like to munch on Glutino pretzels with peanut butter. I just put a little bit of smooth peanut butter in a plastic dish with a lid and bring that with me for a quick snack. Sometimes it's a part of my lunch. I love it!

What do you enjoy snacking on? Please let us know! We love ideas!

Munch on!
-Mandy

Dinner Fresh from Our Garden!

My husband, Andrew, and I planted our own vegetable garden this year. We had a whole bunch of tomatoes, peppers, and egg plant. We had a surplus of eggplant at one time, so I decided to make eggplant parmesan. I had an awesome recipe from the New York Times (August 2005) and I made some tweaking of my own. I will say that this made a boat load eggplant parm. We had left overs for quite some time. So feel free to scale back if you don't want to fuss with left overs.

Ingredients
2 lbs (2 large eggplants)
1 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes (I used tomatoes from our garden but this is what the original calls for)
2 large cloves or 3 small cloves garlic, peeled, grated or minced (I grated mine)
Olive oil
Pepper/Salt (season to taste)
1 cup of GF flour (I use King Arthur's)
1 cup of GF bread crumbs
4 large eggs, beaten
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (or more if you prefer)
1 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese (I use Beligioso)
1 cup of fresh basil leaves

Directions
1. Slice eggplants lengthwise into 1/4 or 1/2 inch slices. Arrange a layer into a colander and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the rest of the eggplant. Put into sink and allow to drain for at least 2 hours. I put a couple heavy bowls on top to really drain excess water.

2. While eggplant is draining, make the sauce. In a food processor, blend garlic, tomatoes and about 1/3 cup of olive oil. Season with salt and better.

3. After the 2 hours, wipe off the salt from each slice and then sandwich the eggplant between paper towels to get out any extra moisture.

4. Combine flour and bread crumbs in a bowl, mix. In another bowl add the eggs.

5. Preheat a large skillet with no more than half an inch of olive oil.

6. Dredge eggplant into flour mix, dip into egg, dredge again into flour. Shake off excess during each step.

7. Carefully place eggplant into the pan. Fry on both sides and then drain onto a plate with paper towels.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

9. In a large baking dish (I used my Rachel Ray bubble dish), add about 1 cup of sauce to bottom of the pan. Sprinkle some mozzarella on top of the sauce. Place one layer of cooked eggplant on top of cheese/sauce. Top eggplant with mozzarella cheese, some parmesan, and basil.

10.Make another layer of eggplant, top with sauce, cheeses, and basil. Repeat until no eggplant remains.

11. Bake until the cheese on top is melted and slightly brown. It took about 35 minutes. Rest for about 10 minutes before you eat so you don't scorch your mouth!

Buon appetito, gluten free style!

-Mandy

Our Favorite Family Breakfast!

Hands down, the winning breakfast in our house is pancakes made with King Arthur pancake mix.  My 3 year old son asks for pancakes every day.   Which is not a problem, because left over batter keeps for 1-2 days in the refrigerator.  In no way do they taste any different then "normal" pancakes,  they are quite exceptional.  They are wheat free, soy free, nut free and even contain whole grains.   Did I mention that you can also use the same mix for waffles!  If you have some time on your hands, you can follow the King Arthur recipe for gluten free pancakes from scratch at kingarthurflour.com.   You will also find other great gf recipes on their site.  If you haven't tried their pancakes yet, please do!    BTW, they taste best with maple syrup.  Time for me take heat up the leftover batter.  
                     Lisa

                     

Good Bye, Pizza (or so I thought)

It's almost amusing now when I have conversations with some people about what I can or cannot eat due to a gluten allergy. Once I break it down, there's a good chance that person will say: "Gasp! That means no pizza!" Yep, sad day for me. Pizza is a gluten paradise that I will no longer surf in. And the near tears begin.

Now I've tried pre-made pizza shells. They're fine in a pinch...but when the pre-baked personal pan pizza size shell itself costs the same as a large pizza at the yummy joint (not GF) down the road, I can't bring myself to making it. I tried one brand of GF flour and the pizza tasted like pancakes with marinara sauce. Not pleasant. So imagine my hesitation when I saw this little guy on the shelves at my local Wegmans:

I picked up the box and the smell of oregano was so lovely. Chebe is a product of Brazil. Gluten free, dairy free, corn free, and a bunch more allergen friendly labels decorated the sides. And it was a third of the price of the pizza shell that I usually buy. I figured that would be a good experimental dinner.

It was super easy to mix, which many GF doughs are down right sticky and a horror to try to mush into a pizza pan. This was not at all! So I was already excited about that. I topped my pizza with sauce, cheese, chopped pineapples, and sliced onion.

The directions said to bake for 15-18 minutes, but I like my crust a little crispy so I had it in for 20. The cheese got a bit well done, though.

Overall, a delicious pizza! My hubby was even impressed. Just a few tips that I may try to do next time:

• Do not go overboard on the sauce. We used a fork to eat it because we couldn't pick it up. Plus it was a touch soggy.
• Same with the cheese....went a little nuts considering I still had other toppings to add.
• I may try lower temp for a longer period of time to ensure the doneness of the dough and not burn the cheese.

I am pretty stoked that I have a pizza that I can go to during those times when all I want is cheese, sauce, and dough in a circular shape. :)

Happy eating,
Mandy

Another GF Blog? Really?

Yes! This is a blog about being gluten free! No, I hope it isn't a typical blog. I discovered that I would need to live Gluten Free a few days before my birthday this passed March. For those who know me, I love cake. No, I seriously love cake (and cookies, donuts, danishes, baked goods)....a lot. So imagine the tears when I received a call from my doctor's office telling me that I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I know it probably sounds ridiculous to cry over cake...and it certainly is. However, at the time I had no idea what life would be like with out WHEAT! You never really think about how much wheat one can consume until it becomes a big no-no.

Now, I tried to deny this need to avoid gluten and had some unhappy consequences. Fortunately,  I have a wonderful support system and on my birthday, I came home to a freshly baked cake (thanks, Brian). I was so so happy to be able to eat boxed cake on my birthday. So my birthday weekend started my journey to not only live gluten free, but healthy as well.

As I was posting on the lovely Facebook about my new life style, my first year teaching mentor, Lisa, posted to me that she too was living gluten free. Little does she know (until she reads this) how relieved I was that someone I knew understood my situation. Since then we've swapped ideas, discoveries, and then she said to me one day (via Facebook) about how fun it would be to start a blog about living GF in the Lehigh Valley. I thought it was a great idea. After an overly irritating trip to Wegman's yesterday, I was inspired. And here we are.

My hope and goal for this blog is to share what two people are learning, eating, and discovering in this progressive world of Gluten Free. I hope that you, reader, find some help, inspiration, or even make a GF friend. Thanks for reading!

- Mandy

A cupcake that I made from a recipe from a fellow blogger....