Better Batter Financial Aid

Just discovered that Better Batter offers financial aid in buying their products for folks in need.  For financial needs or for medical such as Autism.  Check it out if this applies to you.  Nice to know a Gluten Free company understands that not everyone can afford to eat gluten free that needs to.

http://betterbatter.org/financial-aid

Korealicious camp hill

Good Afternoon Alicia,

Happy to hear that your co-worker enjoyed their food!  Unfortunately we don't have dishes that are 100% Gluten free.  Below is a list of our dishes containing very little gluten ("gluten-friendly") though.  Hope to hear from you soon!  If you decide to try our meat dishes please specify that you'd like no rice.

SPICY MARINATED PORK (Jaeyuk Bukeum)

$14.99

Spicy stir-fried pork with vegetables ( onions, scallion, cabbage ) served with rice.

 

BULGOGI

$14.99

Korean style grilled marinated beef served with rice.

 

GALBI

$17.99

Korean syle grilled marinated beef short ribs served with rice.

 

SPICY MARINATED CHICKEN (chicken Bukeum)

$12.99

Spicy stir-fried chicken with onions and scallions served with rice.

 

SOONDUBU JJIGAE

$7.99

A hot and spicy jjigae (Korean stew) dish made with uncurdled dubu (tofu), mushrooms, onion, scallions, and gochujang or gochu garu (chili powder). • Pork • seafood (shrimp, squid, mussels, clam)

 

O-JING-UH BOKEUM

$11.99

Spicy stir-fried squid with mixed vegetables (onions, scallions, carrot and zucchini) served with rice

Pizza hodge podge

Yesterday I was at the hospital in the morning with my parents for some testing for Dad.   We got back to their place around 1ish.  I hadn't eaten anything since the breakfast sandwiches I made for Mom and I .   So it was time to eat something and I was craving pizza.  I had to go to the grocery store to get more apples for the apple crisp I was to make for mom, so I grabbed the Against the Grain pizza shell since all their products have been divine.  I topped it off with the Piazza Sorrento's marinara sauce mom had in the fridge and the Daiya dairy free mozzarella cheese and Sargento's Colby Jack cheese.  A total hodge podge of ingredients.  This was delicious.  Seriously good.  And by using the pizza tray to bake it, it was a floppy crust, almost like a pizzeria pizza.  I had to show some restraint eating it.  It was that good.   Mom agreed. She was loving it just as much as I was!

She also picked up some stuff at Made with Love Not Gluten.  OMG.  The strawberry filled cupcakes were amazing. I want a cake of this.  Soooooo good.  The orange cranberry scones were good too.  I have a few more items to try out, but it remains, I have yet to have anything here that was not good. 

 

Gluten free costco and TJ Rockwell's

Found a few more GF goodies at Costco.  I already love them for carrying a 6 pack of the Pacific Broth for $11.99.  But I roamed the aisles and found some breads in the freezer and a GF all-purpose flour in a 5 lb bag.  Way to go Costco! 

Also, we had dinner with some friends at T.J. Rockwell's.  it's been a while since we had been there, and I knew they had changed the menu.  I emailed them to see if they had any gluten free options.  I was told to ask for the gluten free menu when I got there.  They indeed have a gluten free menu.  It's small, but it's nice.   I had the Key Largo Shrimp and Chicken.  It was OK.  I would have liked a stronger sauce flavor.  I am looking forward to trying the ribs next time.  MM MMMM Good.  They also have Angry Orchard on tap.  It used to be Woodchuck but now they offer this instead which is a fine cider. If only they would make the rhino fries gluten free……

Apple Crisp

6-8 apples, sliced

1 C Better Batter Flour

1 C Sugar

Liberal amount of cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie seasoning

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1 Large Egg

1/2 C melted butter

 

Mix dry ingredients together, add egg to make crumbles.  Mix with hand, you can really squish it in this way.  Spread over the apples, then pour melted butter over top.  Top with additional cinnamon or pumpkin pie seasoning.   7 1/2 X 12 pan or larger.   Bake for 40 mins at 375 degrees.

Gluten free Meatloaf

Meatloaf ingredients

2 lbs. ground beef

2 eggs

1 packet gluten free French onion soup mix (may try two next time)

1 packet gluten free gravy mix

1 cup dried gluten free breadcrumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Ketchup Mixture

3/4 C brown Sugar

1 1/2 C Ketchup

A couple dashes of hot sauce (I use Tabasco Chipotle for a little smokiness)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the meatloaf ingredients.

Form into a loaf shape and place on a cookie lightly greased cookie sheet.   Top with the ketchup topping mixture.  Add a little water to your cookie sheet.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 1-1 1/2 hrs.   Use a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature is safe.   

Serve with mashed tateys and enjoy

Piazza Sorrento's, Against the Grain, BRCA

So I have fallen for more of the Against the Grain products. 
Most recently the baguette.   It's good plain or toasted, dipped in oils, toasted with cheese.  Good all around!  Also tried their dinner rolls.  Warm them up first.  It makes a difference. They worked great as a replacement for English muffins in my lazy and cheap pizza alternative. 

 

Totally excited to see that not only is Arooga's changing their menu, but have become gluten free certified.  Woo hoo!  See the article below:

http://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/10/aroogas_hershey_new_menu_wings.html#incart_m-rpt-1

 

 

My cousin was in town last weekend to run the Hershey Half Marathon with her sister in law, who has recently gone gluten free.   I was totally excited to take them to Piazza Sorrento's, which I still feel is my all-time fave gluten free place in the area.  Flinchy's comes in second.  They would be tied for first if they had more bread offerings.  Although Flinchy's spinach and artichoke dip is so good, I would down a vat of it in a heartbeat.   But back to Piazza Sorrento's.  The girls seemed to really enjoy not only the gluten free bread, but the tiramisu and dinners.   We had a wonderful time.   Many laughs and full bellies! Just always make reservations on the weekends.  You may still wait just a little, but they try to accommodate everyone and make everything from scratch.  Well worth it !

 

After the half marathon, my cousin was going up to New York to partake in the P.Ink Day 2013 (P-ink.org) for a tattoo to cover up her mastectomy scars.  For her full story, check out her blog here :http://ponderingprevivor.blogspot.com/p/brca-previvor.html.  She was selected to participate not only in this day, but in a Huffington Post interview with her tattoo artist and the P.Ink founder.   It was a great interview and you will learn more about it here:http://live.huffingtonpost.com/#r/segment/pink-project-tattoos-for-mastectomy-survivors/5252c7c402a76017c50003f.   She has made some rough decisions at a young age, to avoid falling to the same genetic fate as her mother.   I always am impressed with her courage to make that decision, which, having her ovaries removed so young, ended her child bearing years.  Luckily, she has two babes already.  But anytime a woman makes drastic changes to her body, the landscape changes are not without emotional scaring.   I know what I went through just having a breast reduction.  I can't imagine what have a preventive double mastectomy and having your ovaries out would be like.  But she made the choice to save her life and to become and advocate.    She is more than willing to answer questions and try and help others in the same boat.   It's not always easy, but she does it well.  So if you or someone you know is facing some concerns testing positive for BRCA, her blog is a good place to start.  

 

Ok, that is it for now.  More soon to come, after my WildTree party in two weeks!!!

catching up

It's been far too long and I know I have a lot to catch up on.   So let's dive in.  I found a new frozen pizza that I really love, and even Ken likes it.  And that is saying something.   Against the grain's regular pizza is pretty close to "normal" pizza.   It was delightful.  It turned out best when I followed their pizza stone instructions.   Good stuff, good stuff.
Made With Love Not Gluten has really expanded their hours and dear lord, is their food tasty.   I tried today doughnuts, brownies and cupcakes.  DELICIOUS!  I wish I lived closer so I could get it more often.  Might have to start asking to work there so I can get my fix!
Now due to some phone issues I am having (I would go into detail, but that would require more wine....) I am missing some of my photos to back up this post, so I will have to include some links.
We were on vacation in Cooperstown, NY this week, to take dad to the baseball hall of fame!   It's been a long time in the making, and with the way things have gone in the past few years, no time like the present to make and enjoy new memories.  You never know what will happen around the corner, so we did get to enjoy one of the places there that has some gluten free options, 3 times!  Two breakfasts and one dinner.  They had some decent options.  The Doubleday Cafe.   I really enjoyed the #6 breakfast (no breads) and the GF chicken quesadillas.  
I plan on getting back on the recipe experimentation track in the next few weeks now that we got some painting done at mom and dads and vacation out of the way.  I will also be continuing my tattoo removal.  Good times all around, lol.

http://www.againstthegraingourmet.com/products/

http://www.madewithlovenotgluten.com/

https://www.facebook.com/DoubledayCafe

Meatballs take 2

Time to take another stab at meatballs and a new pizza crust for garlic bread.

For the meatballs:

• 1 1/2 pounds meatloaf mix (beef, pork, veal combo)
• 4 cloves garlic-chopped/minced
• a handful of chopped Italian parsley
• most of a chopped shallot (optional)
• 1 cup gluten free bread crumbs (I use Ian's Italian)
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (next time I will add a  little pecorino romano in there)
• 2 eggs
• salt to taste

Then:

• Sauce of your choice (approx two 24-oz jars or your own sauce and lots of it!)
• Mozzarella cheese to top it off with (I used a pack and a half of Sargento's 6 cheese Italian blend)

Preheat oven to 375. Mix all of the meatball ingredients together and form your meatballs (stay on the smaller side I would say).  I made 28 meatballs.  Place the meatballs in a large skillet/pan with Olive Oil and brown the meatballs.  Don't overcook them, as they will continue to cook in the oven. 

Pour some sauce in the bottom of your pan.  Place meatballs on top of the sauce.  Cover with more sauce then add the cheese.  Lots of Cheese.  It should be meatballs, all covered with cheese….I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed…. Sorry, couldn't resist.   Cover the pan with foil and bake for 25 mins.  Remove foil and bake an additional 20 mins or until meatballs are cooked through (this is where consistent size control helps).

GF pizza, cod and cider

When I was strolling through the grocery store the other day, I found this Gluten Free Breaded Cod.  So I had to buy it to try it.  it was rather tastey!  I would recommend spraying your tray though, I flipped it when they recommended and it was sticking to the pan. They said not to spray, so I didn't.  Next time I will.

 

We also went back to Sabatini's while up visiting Ken's family.   I still love their GF pizza.  I also go to try a new Cider this time, and LOVE it.  Hoping we can find it down here somewhere.  It was crisp and refreshing. 

Simply Turkey

I contacted Simply Turkey and they are offering some great options :-)

We just started to focus our efforts on offering more gluten free items on our menu.  We just got in a white gluten free bread which you can use for just about any sandwich on our menu.  Also you can create your own salad to your liking that can be gluten free.  If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask! 

Qdoba, lucky bones, rusty nail

A friend told me they tried the new Qdoba in Harrisburg across from the East Mall (it will always be the East Mall, I don’t' care what they say).   He said they told him about their GF stuff and gave a tour of the place.  So I checked out the website and they had a very nice allergen menu.  So far the best one for a Mexican restaurant I have seen.  In fact the only one for a Mexican restaurant I have seen in this area. http://www.qdoba.com/downloads/Qdoba_Allergen_Info.pdf

 

So my bestie and I went to the beach this past weekend and I got to try a few new places.  I really liked Lucky Bones, they have a very full Gluten Free menu and it was a lively place.   The Rusty Nail was not bad either; it had a lot of boiled or steamed seafood so I did well there also.   The Ugly Mug didn’t' have near as many options but I was able to find a few on the menu that they weren't aware of, like crab claws and some butter.  Worked great for me!   

 

I am looking forward to getting back into some cooking.  I have a meatball recipe from my cousin I want to try and my Great Aunt is going to take me through her version also.  I want to have the meatball world gluten free and at my will. Also on the list of things to try out, the cream cheese pizza crust I found on Pinterest.  I mean, it would be less smelly than the cauliflower one, which, since Ken doesn't bring sauerkraut into the house knowing it makes me turn green, I gotta respect that cooked cauliflower smells horrible to him.   So that will be a fun one to give a go 

Piazza Sorrento, Orville Redenbacher, Wild Tomato

I got to try more yummies at Piazza Sorrento, including their crab dip and the tiramisu.  OMG.  Delicious!  I also got to try the shrimp crostini.  I can't get over how everything I have had there has been so delicious.  They have won my heart and my tummy!

 

A friend also gave me the Orville Redenbacher's Pop Crunch with Brown Sugar and Cinnamon to try as it's gluten free.  Dear lord this was like crack.  I almost ate the whole bag it was that good.   Dangerously good.   Then I felt like making something sweet and made the Betty Crocker Chocolate cake mix and took some butter cream icing and threw some unsweetened cocoa powder in it.  Another home run.  Both Ken and I enjoyed those immensely. 

 

Now I also finally tried Wild Tomato's Margheita pizza.  It was better than I had expected.  I had to fight to not eat it all.  Another yummy find there.  Granted it arrived a little disgruntled...

 

My bestie and I are beach bound this weekend, and I am thinking of trying some new things down there as she is a seafood lover like I am.   I am excited to get to spend time with her since she lives on the other side of the country and to get to enjoy some beach time.   Woo hoo!!!

Meatballs

I wish I was smart enough to ask my Nonna and Grandma to walk me through some recipes when they were alive, but I was a teenager when they passed and didn't think to ask for such things, and my grandmother was not the kind to offer up such ideas.  So I went to Pinterest looking for some gluten free meatball recipes and am also trying to get some from relatives.  Here is one I found and it was not bad.  Next time I am going to the mom and pop grocery store to get the ground sausage, Giant had one option, which while not bad, would not be my normal sausage pick.

  

Side note, totally excited that a cousin sent me her meatball recipe to try and my grandpa's baby sister (closing in on 90) also offered to walk me though hers.  Will be trying out both recipes :-)

Meatballs

 

1 T Salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp ground thyme

1/4 tsp pepper

1 C quick oats

1 large shallot

4 cloves of garlic

7-10 fresh basil leaves

2 lbs hamburger

1 lb ground sausage

1 egg

2 cups olive oil

6 cups tomato sauce

 

1.     Combine first 7 ingredients in a blender until you reach a flour like consistency.(I used gluten free oats, also, had no thyme on hand, so for the marjoram, oregano and thyme I used Italian seasoning blend)

2.     Chop shallot, garlic and fresh basil.  I use a hand grater for my garlic, easier than chopping.

3.     Add hamburger and sausage into a large mixing bowl.

4.     Add flour mixture and chopped ingredients.

5.     Add egg.

6.     Mix by hand until well combined.   (Next time I am going to use the stand mixer, I have a feeling it will go better….)

7.     Roll into 3-4 inch balls.

8.     Heat oil in a large skillet. (I ran out of olive oil, so mine was half olive and half  smart balance oil, and it worked fine)

9.     Brown meatballs 1-2 minutes on each side.

10.Remove from oil and place into a baking dish or roasting pan and cover.

11.Bake for 2 hours at 225 degrees. 

12.Remove and serve as desired.  We chose to dip ours in the sauce, instead of making any pasta or tossing them in the sauce. 

Piazza Sorrento

I finally got to try the Eggplant Involtini at Piazza Sorrento.  I have been wanting to try this for so long, but it's only offered at dinner and we rarely are there for that.  It was delicious.   I can't wait to go back and try it again.  Piazza Sorrento really does go above and beyond to offer a slew of gluten free foods, and prepare them with care and make sure every plate that is gluten free is marked as such.  I just love this place!

It's been a little while

I haven't blogged in a while, but I have good reason.

Where to begin?

So let's go back 15 years, to 1998, May 30th to be exact.   My father had a bad fall at work due to a hose being left out on the floor.  He hasn't worked since.   He had to go through three spinal cord surgeries and therapies and has been walker bound ever since.  Good days he can use a cane.  Then two years ago he had a stroke.   That set him back a bit and he suffered some minor vision loss from that, but now can't drive due to it.  Then there was May 30th of this year, 15 years to the day of the fall that changed his life forever.  He ended up in the ER with what is now being called a "small stroke" or an Intraventricual Hemorrhage.  Go ahead, Google it.  It's found almost exclusively in children, and when it is in adults the prognosis is not good. 

Dad, just like with the first stroke, got lucky.  He is weak, his memory is messed up, but he is alive, he is coherent and making fantastic progress.   A week at the hospital in the neurology critical care unit, and then two weeks in the inpatient rehab center and staring outpatient therapies today, Dad has had quite the journey. It constantly seems like the guy can't catch a break, but everything that has happened to him could have been worse, and that is what we have to remember.   Sure it sucks that this has severely altered his life, and that my mother just didn’t' feel comfortable leaving him home alone after the first stroke and retire a little earlier than she had planned on, but all in all, everyone is alive and functional, even if limited.  And I have never seen better representation of true love, or the till death do us part wedding vows than when my parents are together.  They truly are there for one another, and it brings tears to my eyes in times like these.   Precious moments of a life shared together.   Just beautiful.

So yeah, even in all this was a planned vacation to the beach with Ken's family, which we went on.  I will cover all my food related stuff soon.  I just need to catch up on everything.   It's been a while….

Giotti's and Zinco

I finally tried Giotti's in Harrisburg.  I got my standard, pizza.  It was OK.  I am not rushing back for it but the pasta dishes looked amazing so I believe I will be going back to give those a try.  

I also have been testing out some coconut waters and this chocolate one from Zinco is like

yohoo!  I liked it, willget  again :-)0

Official BBQ

Ken and I have been craving some BBQ and he found this place not to far from us called Official BBQ and Burgers .  I contacted them and got a very nice reply back.  I am very excited to try their food! 

Thank you for contacting us, we have a wide range of gluten free items on our menu.  I have attached a copy of our allergen informational menu for you.  We recently started carrying Heisler's Ice Cream as well, and all the flavors (except cookie dough) are gluten free.  

Also, we were recently listed onfindmeglutenfree.com, if you aren't familiar with this website, it may be a really great tool for you! 

Hope to see you soon!

http://www.officialbbq.net/

Cauliflower Bread Sticks

I have to admit, I have been waiting for months to try this and finally made the time to do it.   It was really yummy.  I think next time I would add some garlic, as it makes everything better :-)  I really was pleasantly surprised by the chewy texture.  It is close to a bread chewiness which I have sorely missed.   I shared these with a few people and everyone seemed to like them.

Cheesy Cauliflower “Bread” Sticks

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups cauliflower "rice" (see below)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided (I used the Kraft 6 cheese Italian blend, it was great)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• Marinara sauce for dipping

DIRECTIONS

1. Begin by turning 1 head of cauliflower into "rice." To do this, wash and clean the cauliflower and cut it into chunks (remove the core- is that what you call it?). There are several ways to "rice" cauliflower. You can use a food processor and pulse it until it's a "rice" consistency, or you can use a box grater. Alternatively, you could use a knife to finally chop the cauliflower until it looks like rice. An average head of cauliflower should yield about 4 cups of cauliflower "rice."
2. Microwave the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl for 8 minutes.  Allow to cool completely.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
4. Use a fine mesh strainer to drain the cauliflower. Place the cauliflower "rice" in a clean dish towel and squeeze as hard as you can to remove any excess water. It may look like all the water is removed, but definitely don't skip this step as there is hidden excess water.
5. Once the cauliflower rice is drained really well, dump it into a large bowl. To the cauliflower rice, add 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1 egg slightly beaten, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried basil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
6. Stir the mixture well.
7. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it lightly with cooking spray. Spoon the cauliflower mixture onto the pan and use your hands to form it into a 8 1/2 x 11 inch rectangle (eyeball it- think piece of paper size)
8. Place in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or even longer until the crust is golden brown and firm.
9. Remove the crust from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes. Then top the crust with remaining 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning.
10. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 7-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
11. Cut into "breadsticks" and serve with warm marinara sauce for dipping.

Chicken Parm "Meatballs"

I found this on Pinterest and couldn't wait to try it.  These were yummy!  Now, I had some left over breading in the freezer from the Mother's Day meal, as I honestly double to triple any breading recipe as I like it coated!   And I used that left over instead of what is listed below, but it's not that completely different.  It worked really well.

Chicken Parmesan "meatballs"

Ingredients

·1 cup Ian's Gluten Free panko

·1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (or more)

·1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

·1  egg

·1 pound ground chicken breast (or dark meat)

·1/2 cup diced white onion  (I used dried onion flakes)

·2 cloves garlic, minced

·1 tablespoon dried oregano

·6 fresh basil leaves, torn (my grocery store was out, I used dried)

·1 pinch salt and pepper

·16 small mozzarella cubes, cut from a block

·2 cups  marinara sauce of your choice

Directions

1.    Preheat oven to 400 F.

2.    In a small ziploc bak, combine the panko, half of the Parmesan cheese, and the olive oil.  Set aside.

3.    In a large bowl, lightly beat the egg. Then add the chicken, onion, garlic, oregano, the remaining Parmesan, basil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands.

4.    Lightly coat a  muffin tin with cooking spray. Place a couple of tablespoons of the chicken mixture in each well. Nestle a cube of mozzarella in the center of the mixture. Pat the chicken over the cheese to completely cover it.

5.    Sprinkle the panko/Parmesan mixture on top of each chicken mound, lightly pressing it into the meat.

6.    Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the panko is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. If needed, you may broil the panko to further brown it.

7.    Let rest 5 minutes. Then using a knife, lightly loosen each cupcake from the muffin tin.

8.    In the meantime, warm the marinara sauce in a small saucepan.

9.    Serve meatballs with warmed marinara

Walnut and Rosemary Oven Fried Chicken

I am way behind here, so lets start off with Mother's day I made mom this crusted chicken recipe I had from Cooking Light a few years ago that she liked.  I adapted it to be Gluten Free naturally.  

Walnut and Rosemary Oven Fried Chicken

Ingredients

1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk  (I tend to use a smidgen more just to thin it out a bit)

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 4 (6-ounce) chicken cutlets (I have used regular chicken breast and pounded them to within about a quarter inch of their life.....)
• 1/3 cup Ian's Gluten Free panko  (even though you spice it up, I use a mixture of the regular and Italian)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (If you know me, you know I just throw a bunch of cheese in there)
• 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper $
• Cooking spray
• Rosemary leaves (optional)

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. 2. Combine buttermilk and mustard in a shallow dish, stirring with a whisk. Add chicken to buttermilk mixture, turning to coat.
3. 3. Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add panko to pan; cook 3 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently. Combine panko, nuts, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a shallow dish. Remove chicken from buttermilk mixture; discard buttermilk mixture. Dredge chicken in panko mixture.
4. 4. Arrange a wire rack on a large baking sheet; coat rack with cooking spray. Arrange chicken on rack; coat chicken with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 13 minutes or until chicken is done. Garnish with rosemary leaves, if desired.