As I was tweeting about today in twitterland, I saw a tweet that said that General Mills had a new gluten-free product list on their website.  I immediately clicked right on over to check it out.  I was very pleased to see the number of items on the list.  I did happen to notice that Strawberry Chex was not listed, however, the box states “Gluten-free” on the front.  Wonder what that is all about.  I have noticed in the stores lately that more & more of the products that are made by General Mills that are GF are being labeled “gluten-free”.  I will gladly support a company that makes my life easier.  🙂

In addition to the gluten-free product list on the site, they also have gluten-free recipes.  I may or may not have found a new recipe to try out from the site that I may include in “Cookie-A-Day”.  🙂

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Make sure to keep checking back daily for new cookie recipes! 🙂  I hope you guys are having as much fun with the “Cookie-A-Day” posts as I am.  I am going to have a wonderful selection of cookies come Christmas!

A few weeks back I was contacted by  Ben from Rios of Austin to sample their Gluten-free Cheese Bread.  I accepted the offer of free samples & have really enjoyed testing them out.  Rios of Austin has 3 different flavors of cheese breads to choose from: Original, Basil & Roasted Red Pepper. 

First we tried out the Original with a meal of chicken parmesan, spaghetti & asparagus.

They were very tasty & cheesy.  They reminded me a bit of Chebe bread, but better.  These were fun to dip in the sauce, too!  I only got 2 from the package – Jon snagged the rest! 

The Basil breads were awesome with a wonderful flavor.  They are perfect for pairing with an Italian meal.  I also like to eat them with a large salad. 

The Roasted Red Pepper were my favorite.  I love the texture of cheese breads & the red pepper flavor really added a nice layer to them. 

If you are looking to try some Rios of Austin Cheese Breads, you can go here to see if they are at a store close to you.  If you can’t find them in a store near you, you can order them online here. 

For this cookie, I was inspired by Tina of Carrots’n’Cake.  She made Sweet Potato Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.  I knew once I read that post that I had to make them.  I just happened to have a can of sweet potato puree on hand, so off I went!  I made a few alterations to make the recipe gluten-free.  My changes are below:

• 1 cup old fashioned oats (Used Bob’s Red Mill GF Oats)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix)
• 1 tsp. vanilla

These cookies were awesome!  They aren’t as sweet as a typical oatmeal raisin cookie, but that is fine.  They are chewy & I love the different textures going on. 

A great cookie to offer at Christmas time as a healthier choice.  I went ahead & froze most of these to test out how they freeze.  The result?  They don’t only freeze well, but they are pretty darn good when frozen, too! 

I made my monthly Trader Joe’s trip today.  Okay, who am I kidding?  I go to Trader Joe’s more than once a month, though my budget says I should only go once.  I had my list & I stuck to it, for the most part.  😉  One of the most important thing on my list was Advent Calendars for the kids.  The calendars only cost $.99 and they have a gluten-free milk chocolate candy behind each door!  Truly an unbeatable deal. 

Look how cute:

And that “no gluten ingredients” symbol:

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Head over to Amy’s blog – Simply Sugar & Gluten-free for Slightly Indulgent Tuesday.  Lots of great recipes there or share your own! 

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Check out Iowa Girl Eats for a fun Pop Chips giveaway.  Kristin is doing a month of holiday giveaways! 

Growing up stuffing (what we always called it regardless of whether or not it was stuffed into the turkey).  I know that some call it “dressing” and I believe that is a southern term, but also refers to the dish that is not stuffed into the turkey.  Who knows – whatever – it ROCKS!  😉  My first year of gluten-free eating was 2006 (January 12th, to be exact).  We used a gluten-free bread, not cornbread, and it was not good.  I think it was Ener-G, but I am not positive.  I just know that it didn’t turn out well at all.  I was so disappointed.  The following year I thought about using cornbread instead.  The cornbread I had made gluten-free was darn near the same as the cornbread I had made before.  It had to be better in the stuffing.  It was!  This is what we have now used for the past few years for stuffing/dressing.  We do not stuff the turkey with it, but that has nothing to do with the gluten-free status, but more of my OCD fears of it not getting cooked enough.  I prefer it crisped up on top anyway. 

Cornbread Stuffing with Sausage – ingredients

2 batches of cornbread

1 roll of sausage (check to make sure it is GF)

2 sticks of butter

Chopped celery

Chopped onion (I omit b/c I can’t eat onions)

Salt

Pepper

Poultry Seasoning

Broth – turkey or chicken

I am going to go through the entire method below.  From baking the cornbread to making the sausage and combining it all together.  Also, I make the cornbread a few days in advance.  You can leave it partially uncovered to help dry it out.

Cornbread

**From the back of the Quaker Yellow Corn Meal Box

***Double this for the stuffing

1 ¼ cups Pamela’s Baking Mix

¾ cup cornmeal (Used Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground Cornmeal)

¼ cup sugar (1/8 cup for stuffing cornbread)

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt (I omitted this b/c there is salt in Pamela’s baking mix)

1 cup buttermilk (the box says to use skim, I like buttermilk in my cornbread)

¼ cup vegetable oil (I use canola)

2 egg whites or 1 egg beaten (I used the beaten egg.

Heat oven to 400. Pam 8 or 9 inch baking pan. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. (I did 20 minutes).

The day of preparation.

Crumble the cornbread onto cookie sheets in a single layer & place in oven at 250 – 300 degrees and check frequently until it gets dried out, but not burnt.  While you are doing this, you can prepare the sausage (I used Tennesee Pride Mild). 

Melt butter in large frying pan.  Add chopped celery & onion & cook until translucent.  Add seasonings – salt, pepper & poultry seasoning to taste.  My Mom is the pro at this.  You can always add more, so taste as y0u go. 

Mix bread, sausage and butter/celery/onion mixture together in a large bowl. 

You will need to add broth to moisten the stuffing before placing in the oven.  How much depends on your preference.  The more, the moister.  Cover & bake at 350 – 375 for 30-40 minutes.  Take cover off for the last 10 minutes or so to crisp up the top if you like.

Notice the different dish?  I had so much stuffing I had 2 dishes full and forgot which one I had been taking pictures of! 

My Mom used to make these cookies when I was a child.  I remember calling them “Snowballs” instead of “Russian Teacakes”.  They are also called “Mexican Wedding Cakes”.  This recipe comes from the old Betty Crocker cookbook.  I am talking about the old, old, old one.  I think that it was printed in the early 70s.  All I know is that my Mom still has the book & it is in pieces.  She was nice enough to make copies of my favorite recipes for me a few years back.  I didn’t have to do much to modify this recipe to be gluten-free. 

Original:

What I did:

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

2 1/4 cups GF Flour Mix (I used Carol’s Sorghum Mix)

1 1/2 tsps Xanthan Gum

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup finely chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Heat oven to 400.  Mix thoroughly butter, sugar, egg & vanilla.  Work in flour, salt & nuts until the dough holds together.  Cover & chill for 30 minutes or so.  Shape dough into 1-inch balls.  Place on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set, but not brown.  I only needed to keep them in for 10 minutes.  I use an oven thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature in my oven.  Let cookies cool slightly – 5-10 minutes.  While still warm, roll cookies in powdered sugar.  Set on cooling rack to complete cooling.  Roll again in sugar once they are cool. 

Ready to go into the oven:

Finished product:

They kids loved these!  The best thing about these cookies is they freeze well.  I froze most of these so that I can have a nice assortment of cookies for Christmas. 

After the feasting last Thursday, our eating spree continued into Black Friday and then again on Saturday for lunch with my Dad & family.  The risotto that I talked about here was just too good to pass up again on Saturday (yes, we went back to Marcella’s ;)).  My body was begging to be fed the way it is used to being fed – with lots of fruits & veggies!  Of course I enjoy my sweet treats, but not before I eat the healthy (and good) stuff. 

I was digging through my vegetable drawer today to find something to go along side my sandwich & salad & saw some carrot sticks that Aaron had cut up.  An idea popped into my head – carrot fries!  I had seen them in the past month or so around the blog world & it was time for me to try them out.  I sprayed a baking sheet with Pam and then placed the carrots sticks on the sheet, sprayed them with Pam and then seasoned with salt & pepper.  I baked/roasted at 400 for about 10-20 minutes, flipping occasionally.  I plated them with my sandwich & added some ketchup on the side for dipping.  YUM!  Another naturally gluten-free recipe.  🙂

I feel so much better when I keep my diet full of fresh fruits & veggies.  I have so much more energy!  Of course another way to stay on track or get back on track after a splurge or holiday is to get right back into your exercise routine.  I try to keep my schedule the same or very close to it, so even though I may splurge on some goodies, I am still getting my runs or workouts in.  You don’t have to throw in the towel because you overate or didn’t workout for 4-5 days.  Just get right back into it!  

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Keep an eye out tomorrow for the start of Cookie-A-Day on Gluten-free is Life.  I hope to share a cookie recipe with you guys at least 5 days/week during the month of December.  Some will be healthier versions to keep the pounds from piling on this holiday season.  I am a firm believer in moderation, though.  Don’t deny yourself anything.  Life is too short.  Denying yourself will make you want it even more & may even cause you to over eat or binge.  

When I first heard of pumpkin cornbread, I was reading Meghann’s blog and thought it was an amazing idea!  I couldn’t wait to give it a try.  I found the recipe that Meghann used here.  Laura of Real Mom Kitchen has some great recipes – including Pumpkin Belgian Waffles that I may be trying out in my brand new Belgian waffle maker that I got on Black Friday!!  This recipe wasn’t gluten-free, so I made some changes.  The results were impressive!  Jon really enjoyed it and has been eating this for all of his meals, including breakfast!  Hannah also enjoyed it.  I had a piece along side my Thanksgiving meal.  It was a very nice compliment.

Pumpkin Cornbread

1 cup Pamela’s GF Pancake & Baking Mix (if you use a GF flour mix without xanthan or guar gum, you need to add 1/2 – 1 TBSP)
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup cornmeal (I used Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground GF Cornmeal)
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
2/3 cup brown sugar
¼ cup canola oil
1 Tbs molasses

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees & grease a 10 inch pie pan or 9 inch square pan.

2.  Mix all dry ingredients (except brown sugar) in a large bowl.

3.  In another bowl, beat the eggs lightly.  Then mix in the pumpkin, brown sugar, oil & molasses.

4.  Make a well in the dry ingredient mix and then add the wet ingredients.  Stir to mix, being careful to not over mix.

5.  Pour into pan and bake for 30 minutes or until the bread is nicely browned and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.

6.  Cool slightly & enjoy!

I found this freezes well – it tastes just as good when you defrost & eat slightly warmed in the microwave or toasted in the toaster oven.

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So, now the waffle iron details….$79.99 original price, purchased for $19.99.  Can’t beat that!  I tried it out last night with Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix & Jon had 2 and a half Belgian waffles.  Yes, the 7+ inch size.  The kid is eating us out of house & home.  Oh, then he had some pumpkin pie, as if the waffles (bacon and applesauce, too) wasn’t enough.

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Recipe for my new POM Wonderful Cranberry Sauce is up on the Examiner.  It came out really good!  I have been eating leftovers on my salad, ice cream, sandwiches and may have some with cottage cheese for a nice snack tomorrow!  I cut the sugar in half and you can’t tell.

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The week is over (or just beginning).  I guess it depends on how you look at it.  The busy week is over and a less busy week is starting.  It was so great to spend time with family over the past few days, but it is good to get back to the routine.  I am worn out.  I did manage to get the tree & Christmas decorations up today. 

My Mom, Hannah and I headed out shopping for some great deals on Friday.  We shopped for close to 12 hours.  We got some amazing deals, most I can’t talk about due to peeping eyes!  😉  We stopped for lunch  around noon at Marcella’s.  I am a sucker for risotto, so I ordered the Roasted Chicken & Broccolini Risotto.  It was TDF!  I thought I liked the Seafood Risotto – I think this Roasted Chicken one might be better!  It was the perfect way to refuel.  After lunch we hit up World Market & spent close to an hour in there.  Not because we were in line, because we were having a blast!  I love that place!  The only bummer – they were out of their dark chocolate & sea salt bars that I have been dying to try!  It was a super fun day!  I love spending time with my Mom & Hannah.  The only thing missing was my sister, Kelly.  Here is a picture of us together last December.

This week Manda of Asparagus Thin is hosting the Gluten-Free Menu Swap with the theme of cranberries.  Cranberries rock!  I made my own cranberry sauce for the first time last Thanksgiving.  This year I added a new twist to that recipe and I will be sharing it later this week.   I am also interested in learning how to cook other things with cranberries.  I have been adding the leftover cranberry sauce to my salads….what a great topper!

Sunday- Rotisserie chicken, green beans, sweet potatoes & salad

Monday ~BBQ chicken breast, brown rice, asparagus & salad

Tuesday ~Tacos, refried beans, corn & salad

Wednesday ~Burgers, sweet potato fries & salad

Thursday~ Filet, roasted veggies & salad

Friday~ Homemade pizza, veggies & salad

Saturday~Leftovers

Baked Goods

Bread

Cookies (starting my Cookie a Day baking to get ready for December)

Don’t forget to check out Orgjunkie for lots more menu plans & ideas. 

Well, a couple days late is better than never, right?  The past 2-3 days have been a whirlwind here in our house.  Wednesday consisted of running around in circles baking, cooking, chores, laundry and then sleeping.  Thursday started with a lovely 6 mile run at the gym.  Gotta get that run in to create the calorie deficit that needed to occur before the feast! 😉  LOL!  I believe in eating all my favorites & not restricting foods for the holidays because then you walk away feeling deprived.  I am not saying I go hog wild, there is a happy medium there.  Once my run was complete, then came the cooking.  The turkey was prepped & then placed in the oven to roast.  I have to say that we purchased a Meijer Naturals Turkey this year and were disappointed in it.  The meat came out very dry despite being cooked in the oven bag.  In years past we have only used Honeysuckle or Butterball and it looks as if that is the only way to go.  After prepping the turkey, we moved onto the cranberry sauce, stuffing, veggies & salad.  Thankfully I had help from my Mom, Aaron & Mary, my mother-in-law.

The turkey ready to head into the oven: 

Turkey, resting:

Ready to be carved:

Green beans & carrots ready to be steamed:

My plate of yumminess:

The cranberry sauce was made differently this year.   I used POM Wonderful and orange juice instead of just orange juice.  Also, I cut the sugar in half.  I will post the new recipe this week.  We also had come cocktails made with Pom Wonderful, orange juice & Stoli’s vodka = YUM! 

The meal was awesome!  I am also preparing recipes for the Catholic potatoes, cornbread stuffing w/sausage and pumpkin cornbread to go up this week. 

Did you guys shop on Black Friday?  My Mom, Hannah & I went out at 4:30 AM and shopped for close to 12 hours!  Lots of fun.  I will share a recap & deals in an upcoming post. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!