Baking baking and more baking

   It's the time of year for lots of baking!! And I LOVE it. Wish I had a bigger better kitchen and more time to do it but it is what it is (until I get my hands on my very own bakery!). I'm not releasing any recipes (sorry) because I worked my magical butt off conjuring them up. I'm a perfectionist too when it comes to the taste, texture and look of what I bake. Some times it takes many attempts to get it just right! So, no..no recipes...but I will show you what I've been busy with! Such a taste bud tease I am heehee.

Just a scrumptious quick bread (banana chocolate chip)...quickly gone in my kid's bellies!

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This was an apple pie baked a little while ago...just makin ya drool more

Rainbow cookies...it's like magic melted in your mouth.

 

 

 

 

 

yea ok, it's nothing I baked but I can cook too! Veggie and cajun tofu stir fry YUM. It's my ying to the yang of baking   such delicious treats.    

 

 

 

 

Spaghetti and meatballs!!

   What's for dinner you say? Spaghetti and meatballs! YAY! My minions love this meal and my oldest likes to assist in making it. Well, most of the time he does...he was at a friends house tonight so I flew solo. Anyway, I got super lucky at the grocery store today and found a ground pork/beef blend on managers special for $1.99 AND right on the back it said gluten free. Yippie! I had everything else already in the house so a quick kid pleasing easy dinner was at hand. 
   So here's what I threw together for dinner tonight:

1. The super store find of ground meat
2. 1 egg
3. Cooked white rice
4. Rice noodles
5. Pasta sauce
6. Frozen spinach
7. Seasonings: sea salt, pepper and garlic powder

 I start the sauce on low with about 1 c. of frozen spinach right before I make the meatballs. In a separate large pot start to boil, with a little sea salt, the rice pasta. 

Asian market buy at about $1 a bag
  In a medium boil add about 1-1/2 white rice (or brown, whatever suits your taste. I usually have some type of rice already made in the frig like this).

   Pre-made white rice









Add the single egg

Blend together and add salt, pepper and garlic powder. The ground meat I found already came seasoned so I didn't have to add much. Season to your taste.

I prefer this salt of any other

Time to get messy! Add the meat and smoosh together until completely blended. Make sure you take off any rings beforehand because omg yuk. 

my rings :)

Roll into meatballs and place onto an oiled pan to bake. I have a great toaster oven I use that cooks them perfect in 30 mins. You can use a regular oven and bake at 400 for about the same time, you just need to check them.

ready to bake








While they are getting yumified, your pasta water should be almost ready and your pasta sauce simmering. Because I have to sneak spinach in my kids food I make sure it's pretty well cooked. So keep on simmering the sauce on low and add rice pasta to the boiling water when it's ready.

Notice how cloudy the water is? That's all the starch that needs to be well rinsed off once this is ready.







You're going to cook the pasta for 8-10 minutes with frequent testing. You want to be sure to not over cook or you'll have a gooey mess! Remember this is rice just shaped like spaghetti noodles.

 rinse in cold water










When your meatballs are done, add them to the sauce and continue to simmer 3-5 mins.

Add your rice pasta and cook another 5-8 mins to heat the noodles back up. I recommend always adding your rice pasta to whatever sauce you're making to keep them from sticking all together. If you need to have it separate you can use a mix of salt and olive oil. Plate this deliciousness up and make your guest smile :)

**Kid Approved**

Frugal mom approved too. Total cost is roughly $1.25 a bowl.

A day in the GF life...

  Recently a friend of mine ask me about eating gluten free and wanted help designing a diet since he was knew little about it. Now, he wasn't diagnosed with Celiac or an intolerance but rather wanted to see if it would help him feel better, eat better or maybe loose a couple pounds. Going GF while not medically necessary used to annoy me because treating a medical condition as if it's a trend is just dumb. BUT after a while I accepted the concept and realized that eating GF could be an effective way to treat the most under diagnosed and misdiagnosed disease in our country. If people truly felt better eating GF then what's the harm (gluten is evil anyway and I don't think most can digest it properly). With that said, I also think it's important to keep a balance in your diet when eating GF. Yes, most carbs are out which is probably why some people lose weight. However a lot of the packaged goods are loaded with all the same bad fat, carbs and high calories as the gluten foods. There are a large amount of products out there for the taking now but choosing natural is best. Here's an example of a gluten free diet:

Breakfast: 
Eggs
GF cereals
Gf waffles
GF toast or bagels (yea they got them!)
Fresh fruit
GF oatmeal
Cream of Rice 
Grits


Lunch or dinner:
Salads (pretty wide selection with that...just hold the croutons and check the dressings)
Soups (watch for barley or malt flavoring)
Sandwiches (I got my awesome GF breads!)-tuna, turkey, roast beef, ham, PB&J, etc.
Baked potato
Chili
Tacos
Grilled chicken, steaks, fish (watch any seasoning if not preparing this yourself)
Steamed veggies
rice
polenta
rice pasta (they even have ravioli..I know this might have been a concern for some)


Snacks: 
popcorn
rice chips
rice cakes
fruit
snacky veggies like carrot sticks
tortilla chips with salsa, hummus, or guacamole
GF pretzels (I love Snyders!)

Sweets:
Most ice creams (not the ones containing cookies and such)
There are a huge variety of cookies, cakes, and sweet treats available

Beverages:
water (duh)
natural juices
soft drinks (although, again, not really healthy for you)
coffee
tea
GF beer
wine
vodka (distilled from potato)
rum
gin


With any of the food or drinks listed you just need to be aware of the ingredients..READ READ READ AND READ AGAIN. Manufacturers are not required to warn you of ingredients changes to read them EVERY time if they are not labeled GF. 

Now what about eating out? THAT can be a b*tch. To put it lightly. You can usually win with Mexican or Asian cuisine but, again, check the ingredients or talk to the manager. Most places are knowledgeable when it comes to food allergies. Below I listed a few places I have been that I safely ate and enjoyed:

http://www.redrobin.com/

http://www.chinaseaofabsecon.com/

http://bonefishgrill.com/  This company actually owns several different chains that offer GF menus!

http://triobyob.com/v3-2012/ Would love to go here again! Highly recommend it.

http://greeneggscafe.com/  Awesome breakfast!

http://www.pfchangs.com/index.aspx

These are just some of the places I have been fortunate enough to go to, there are lots out there now. Most have menus online too! Call before and check also. Nothing more frustrating then going out to eat and there's nothing but salad!

Bacon Pancakes, Makin Bacon Pancakes

Love my kids..my weird sweet kids. AND the weird awesome TV shows we watch freely on You Tube. Their latest obsession: Adventure Time! Check it...

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en_sVVjWFKk 


If you're familiar with the show I'll admit some things can be over the top and, at times, age inappropriate but as a kid growing up on Tom and Jerry where those two characters violently tried to kill each other, I'd say this is mild. 

Anywho..this silliness lead to my kids desiring bacon pancakes and this was my morning....



First...said bacon (turkey bacon because it's better then the piggy)

My helper..and bacon thief

Dry mix

Add the wet stuff and we're oh so close to BACON PANCAKES!

The bacon looks cozy in there

and two become one

      

 

 

 

slather on the maple syrup and devour!

Instagram!

I LOVE pictures. I'm sure I take too many but it's my way of showing the word a peek into my life. And a good way to remember last week. If you have a smart phone, follow me on Instagram at Pixie_Chef

Bread!

My Amazing Gluten Free White Bread

Sorry, not sharing the recipe for this bad boy. This awesomeness is my baby. Took me months to create and is the base of all my breads. So..MINE. One day I hope to be able to share my goodies with the world but until then, wipe that drool off your keyboard and wait patiently.

It can magically turn into this RYE BREAD!

Or this everything bread (think everything bagel)!

Or this cinnamon apple cranberry raisin bread!

 

Shopping

  Finding gluten free products is much easier now then years ago! Our local grocery store carries a variety and you can find many online stores. For my flours and pasta I shop at the local Asian market and save big bucks on rice products. If you have a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's near you then you are super lucky! Both places are worth the travel even if a little distant. Making most of my food from scratch helps keep cost down as well. I know not everyone has the time or skill to do so but that's what this handy blog is for! Make sure you check out my tips and recipes. Please ask any questions that pop in your head as well! And a little fairy dust for good luck of course.

I'm magical and all but if you're still feeling overwhelmed here's some sites to shop GF and give yourself a break!

http://www.glutenfree.net/ 

http://www.celiac.com/glutenfreemall/ 

http://www.glutenfree.com/ 

 Those are my top 3 places to get your GF needs met.