G-Free Ring Macaroni Salad:

G-Free Ring Macaroni Salad:

This was always a staple at family gatherings while I was growing up, so it was rather disappointing when I thought I could no longer enjoy it. Well, after I discovered the amazing Anellini Pasta (aka: Ring Macaroni) by Dr. Schar, I was in G-Free HEAVEN!

I'm whipping up a batch of this now, so I thought I would pass along the recipe to all of you. Happy Eating!
 

 Ingredients:  

• 1  box Dr. Schar Anellini Gluten-Free Pasta, prepared as directed on box & fully cooled
• 1 large rib of celery finely diced
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tuna drained
• 1/4 cup sweet onions, finely diced (I use vidalias)
• 1 cup gluten free mayonaise, or more to taste (I use Hellman’s)
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt (or less, use to taste)
• 1tsp black pepper
• paprika (optional – used for color on top)

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients together and sprinkle paprika over the top (optional).
Refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight.
Enjoy!

Gluten Free Soft Pretzels? Oh Yes! #glutenfree #gfree

If you're like me, and didn't discover your gluten issues until you were already decades into your life, then you understand how difficult it is to replace food items that we once treasured (yet, undoubtedly took for granted). Now, while they vary from person to person, the reaction is usually the same: *BIG SIGH* . Every time we spot them in a store we feel that pang of longing. See them being eaten by someone at a sporting event, and we know they just don't appreciate the true lusciousness of said item like we do.

Well, for me, one of the foods I have missed the most is a nice hot Soft Pretzel. So imagine how positively giddy I was when I happened upon a box of gluten free ones while wandering through Wegmans. I was over the freaking moon at the prospect! So I snagged a box of those Tonya's Gluten Free Kitchen pretzels and put them in my cart.

Once I was home, it was time to get the pretzel party started! While looking the cooking instructions, I also checked out the ingredients. For a Gluten Free product, the list of ingredients is relatively simple: Rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour, milk, sugar, butter, eggs, potato flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, yeast, and salt. Considering that so many gluten free product ingredient lists are loaded with things only scientists can decipher, I was pleased by this.  I pulled 2 out of the box and got them ready for baking by wiping the surface with a wee bit of water and sprinkling on some of the enclosed salt (Which I was happy to see was in a resealable pouch), and popped them into the toaster oven.

Seven minutes later, they emerged, hot, brown, and smelling absolutely divine! There they were, golden brown pieces of divinity sitting on my plate and I could no longer stand the anticipation. I took a bite, and was blown away by the heavenly bits of deliciousness. These little gems are soft and buttery, with a hint of sweetness....precisely what I look for in a soft pretzel! Wahoooo!!

 I love it when a product lives up to my hopes and dreams, and these babies have done that. I checked out the Tonya's Gluten Free Kitchen website to see what else they offer, and learned that they also make Soft Pretzel Bites, as well as Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzels and Bites.  I hope to find these other varieties sometime soon.

If you want to see if anyone in your area carries these magnificent morsels, check out the Store Locator on the Tonya's Gluten Free website.

To sum it all up: These Pretzels ROCK! And I think I'm going to go have another...

G-Free Berry Trifle

Originally Posted July 6th, 2010 (at gfreezone.wordpress.com)

  Ingredients:

• 1 Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow cake (prepared as directed on box)
• 8 oz softened cream cheese
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp gluten free vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy cream (aka whipping cream)
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 3 cups (about 1 lb) fresh strawberries

Preparation:

Cut cake into small slices (mine were about 1″ x 2″ slices) 
Beat cream cheese,  sugar, and vanilla on high until fluffy. Reduce speed slightly (medium-medium high) and gradually add heavy cream. Beat until well blended and the consistency of whipped cream. 

Place 1/2 of the cake pieces in the bottom of a 2 qt.  serving bowl or dish, followed by 1/2 of  the cream cheese mixture. Spread the cream cheese mixture to cover the cake slices and then place 1/2 of the blueberries and strawberries on top. Repeat with another layer of each (cake/cream cheese/berries). 

 Cover and refrigerate 1 hour-overnight. 

ENJOY!

My Favorite Lunch...Is No More :(

OK, it may seem silly, but I am one of those who is very excited when the time comes for me to escape work for a 1/2 hour and eat lunch. Since I’ve been eating gluten-free, however, I’ve discovered that finding things that I am excited to eat in those 30 minutes of freedom are not so easy to come by.
I have found a few lovely nuggets of deliciousness though…and although I’m sure I will find more on my journey here in the blogosphere, there is one item that ranks above all others (In my humble opinion).

What is this amazing dish I have discovered? Kettle Cuisine’s Gluten Free Chicken Chili with White Beans 

This has become my favorite thing to eat for lunch. Anyone who follows my personal twitter account or facebook page sees me mention it a good 3 times a week. I am truly addicted! The aroma is amazing and always gets everyone coming into the breakroom wanting to know what I have.
If  you like chicken chili, I recommend trying this one. It is full of flavor and has a hint of spice without being spicy hot. It’s loaded with chicken and yummy white beans, so there’s plenty of protein (21 g) & fiber (3 g) to fill you up and give you the energy to get through the rest of your work day. At under 5 bucks it’s certainly not a budget buster, but I would probably keep buying it even if it was more, I gotta have my fix! lol

Now that I’ve been going on and on about my favorite lunch, I’ve made myself hungry! I think I’ll go heat some up….

But wait.. I CAN'T!!

Why?? Because Kettle Cuisine has decided to discontinue it's line of Direct-to-Consumer gluten free soups.

"We recently discontinued making our line of ten chef-inspired, all natural and all gluten free single serve soups so that we can focus our efforts on our foodservice and retail deli businesses.  Despite our best efforts, we were not able to successfully build the frozen soup category in supermarkets.  There are many great brands and products vying for space in the frozen food cases of supermarkets, and our products fell a little short of gaining the necessary sales momentum.

We want to assure you that our commitment to serving great tasting gluten free foods remains as strong as ever.  While we will no longer be selling products directly to consumers, we will continue to make premium quality, gluten free soups for restaurants and prepared foods departments in supermarkets." KettleCuisine.com

This has put a GIANT crimp in my daily plans.Their focus on restaurants & prepared foods in supermarkets does me NO good at all. I needed them to help me get through the day-to-day living, and now I'm kinda feeling abandoned. If they weren't bringing in the right sales numbers, perhaps a bit of mainstream marketing should have been tried, sure seems to have worked for General Mills. But I guess I am left to fugure out how to make it on my own, and then freeze it in lunch sized portions. Just the kind of thing I really don't have time for in my busy life.

If you've ever tried their soups, and know the level of deliciousness I speak of, PLEASE take a moment to send an e-mail to sales@kettlecuisine.com and express your disappointment regarding their decision.