Chocolate Fruity Pebble Treats

I'm still packing my meals for Vacation Bible School this week. I've been kinda boring and have stayed with a cold meat sandwich on bread each night. Tomorrow night they are grilling hot dogs, so I think I'll eat a hot dog without the bun and pack my own side dishes. Hopefully that will work out all right.

Each night the kids get a dessert of some sort with the meal. I've just packed basic sides like GF pretzels, raisins, plantain crispers, etc., but then I heard that Fruity Pebbles are gluten-free now. I decided I should make myself a dessert, and I wanted to use Fruity Pebbles. So, I made a quick trip to the local grocery store, picked up some Fruity Pebbles and came home. The box did NOT say gluten-free on it, so I went to Post Cereal's website. It did confirm that Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles are gluten-free, but if you have specific dietary needs, I would recommend calling or emailing the company with your specific questions. As with all my recipes, please double check what you are using to ensure that it is gluten-free and safe for you.

Not the greatest picture, but here's what I came up with for my Vacation Bible School dessert:

***Chocoalte Fruity Pebble Treats

1/4 cup (or 1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 pkg. (10.5 ounce) mini marshmallows
1 box Fruity Pebbles
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tsp. sugar

Line a 9x13 pan with foil and grease foil. In a very large, microwave-safe bowl, melt butter with cocoa and sugar on high for about 45 seconds. Stir well. If the mixture isn't melted, add another 10-15 seconds and stir again. Add marshmallows and toss with the chocolate mixture until the marshmallows are coated. Microwave 1 1/2 minutes (stopping after 45 seconds to stir), or until marshmallows are completely melted. Add Fruity Pebbles cereal and mix well. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish. Dampen hands with water and firmly press cereal mixture into pan until evenly spread. Allow the treats to cool. Cut into about 15 squares.

Hope you enjoy these! They lasted all of one day at my house!

Vacation Bible School: A Gluten-Free Challenge!

Our church is doing Vacation Bible School this week, and as part of our outreach to the community, we are offering a meal right when Bible School starts. Last night there were sandwiches (cut into fourths) that were either cheese sandwiches, jelly sandwiches, or lunchmeat sandwiches. There were shredded carrot pieces, pretzel sticks, cookies and juice. I knew ahead of time that this was the menu being served, and so I knew that for the week I would have to plan to bring my own meal with me. So, my challenge has two parts: 1) to bring something that will fill me up and give me the energy to lead the music and skits for almost 70 kids, and 2) something that wouldn't make other people eating around me jealous that my food was different.

Gotta love eating gluten-free at a big community meal.

So, last night I made a turkey sandwich on Udi's gluten-free bread. If you've never had Udi's bread, go get some. It will change your gluten-free life. I know that if I'm going out of town or to visit someone who won't be cooking gluten-free, I can bring along some Udi's bread and be just fine.

I also packed some yellow raisins, and some "Sticks and Twigs" by the company with perhaps the best name I've ever read: Mary's Gone Crackers. The "Sticks and Twigs" were a taste sensation, to say the least, so I will have to do a product review of them a bit later on.

I also toted along my Camelbak full of water. I never leave home without it.

Tonight I will make myself another sandwich, and bring along some Food Should Taste Good chips.

What kinds of things do you bring with you when you know you are going somewhere that won't have gluten-free food? What are your go-to snacks? I'll keep you posted on how the rest of Vacation Bible School goes and what kinds of food I decided to throw in my re-usable lunch bag. Should be an adventure!

As a side note, I also noticed that one other helper was unable to eat with everone else. She is vegetarian and lactose intolerant. Next year I want to do something that can make those with food allergies still feel welcome.

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

The title says it all! Banana bread! I can remember my mom baking banana bread and zucchini bread quite a bit when I was still living at home. The smell of it baking in the oven takes me back to childhood, and really, I can't think of a better breakfast than a warm piece of banana bread. Fortunately for me, my husband loves to bake banana bread. But, after I stopped eating wheat, he felt guilty making it. He didn't want to make something that I couldn't enjoy, but he was nervous about gluten-free baking.

He watched me bake a few things gluten-free, and then one evening while I as at a meeting, he surprised me. I came home to freshly baked banana bread. At first, I felt sad because it looked so good and I assumed it was not something I would be able to eat. Imagine my surprise when he told me that it was gluten-free! An even bigger surprise was that it tasted so good I wouldn't have known it was gluten-free if he hadn't told me! He baked another loaf today, and I decided the recipe was good enough I would share with you.

***Gluten-Free Banana Bread
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup white rice flour
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp. xanthan gum
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp. sour milk (2/3 Tbsp. milk, 1/3 Tbsp. vinegar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix oil, sugar, and beaten eggs. Add flours, soda, salt and xanthan gum. Blend in bananas. Bake in large, greased loaf pan, or in round cans for about an hour, or until bread has turned deep brown in color.

Product Review: "Plantain Crunchers" by Amport Foods

If I am ever driving through a town that has a Hy-Vee Grocery Store, I have to stop and check out what's new in the gluten-free section. Hy-Vee has really impressed me with their organic and health food selection, and I've been particularly impressed by how much they stock in the way of gluten-free food. I have always been able to find healthy snacks in the gluten-free section of the store, and it is my go-to store for the various flours I need for GF cooking and baking.

This past week I stopped at a Hy-Vee I'd never been in before, and they had a couple of products by Amport Foods. They both looked great, but I decided to try the "Plantain Crunchers" first. I have to be honest that I don't think I have ever eaten a plantain before this, so I had no idea what to expect. I knew they were like bananas, but usually used in preparing main dishes. That was about the extent of my knowledge. So, I brought these cute little yellow snacks home with no idea what to expect.

My first impression was of "sensory confusion." At first my nose smelled banana, and so I expected a sweet flavor even though I *knew* the crunchers were salted. Once I got over the fact that they tasted pretty much nothing like bananas, I started to enjoy them. My son started begging for some of mommy's "new yellow chips," so I decided to share. He loved them too! They have a texture similar to banana chips in that they are crunchy without being hard, but they have a flavor that is full and meets my salty carb craving.

If you see these snacks in a store near you, it would be worth giving them a try! I've heard Amport Foods has a line of other dried snacks, but I have not yet seen them in the store. Have you tried any of Amport Foods' products? What did you think?

Chicken in a Pot - and Spiced-Up Leftovers

I love cooking at home. I always have. And, now that I am eating gluten-free (and experimenting with dairy-free), it is difficult to eat away from home, so I tend to avoid it. Several of my friends have told me that they do not know how I have time to cook at home for all my meals. The simple, honest truth is that I have found that I have plenty of time to cook at home both because it is a priority and because I have a couple of versatile recipes in my back pocket.

One of those recipes is "Chicken in a Pot." It is easy, simple, basic. My Grandma used to make it, my parents still make it, and I make it fairly often.

***Chicken in a Pot
1 - 3 pound whole chicken, or 3 pounds of cut up chicken
2 carrots, sliced
chopped onion (as much as desired)
2 celery stalks, chopped
Salt and pepper, as desired
1/2 cup water
1/2 to 1 tsp. basil

Place in a crockpot and cook for around 4 hours on high or 7-10 hours on low, or until chicken is done. Use 1 cup of water if cooking on high. Serve over rice, or with desired side dishes. In place of carrots, celery, and onion, you may substitute whatever fresh or frozen vegetables you would like to use.

Super easy. I love this recipe, and I go to it often. After we've eaten what we want from the chicken in a pot, I will cut the chicken into bite-size pices, or shred it up. Save the veggies, and pour the broth into a container. Cool the broth in the fridge, scrape the fat off the top, and freeze it for later use. You know the broth is gluten-free because you made it!

Now, let's take that dinner and turn it into another! First, make up some homemade Italian dressing. You won't use all of it for this recipe, but you can keep it in the fridge to use over salad or as a dip for veggies as a snack.

***Italian Dressing
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. dried minced onion pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp.  ground mustard
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
dash black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. This makes a little over 1 cup of Italian dressing.

And now, for the spiced-up leftover.

***Chicken and Spiral Pasta
1 pkg. (12 oz. dry) brown rice spiral pasta, or whatever shape you want (I used Tinkyada brand)
leftovers from Chicken in a Pot
5 Tbsp. Italian Dressing (or more if you really want to notice the flavor)

Heat water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, drain, and rinse with cold water. This helps the pasta keep its shape.  Heat up leftover Chicken in a Pot. Stir chicken and veggies into noodles. Add Italian Dressing and mix well.

Voila! Dinner! This made so much for me tonight that I think I have leftovers for tomorrow's lunch too! This time around I took "Easy Street" and used a bag of frozen peas and carrots when I made Chicken in a Pot. Worked out just fine!

My kids and husband love this recipe. I hope you will love it too!