Hodgson Mill Pizza Mix Review

Now that I live in a different part of the state products availability is a little bit different. The other night we tried the new Hodgson Mill's Pizza Crust Mix. You can read what I said about their cookie mix here. I also have a box of their brownie mix too, so look for a review on that soon too. So far I've like what I've tried, they do seem less perfectly allergy free then other brands, but if your main allergies are gluten, dairy, and nuts this mix will fit the bill, plus it cost less then other brands.

I wasn't too thrilled that this mix does have yeast in it, and I'm suppose to stay a way from yeast. I can't always get a way from it because yeast in in all commercial gluten free breads and some other baked goods like pizza crust. Besides the yeast issue, the texture of this mix is awesome. I've tried many pizza crust recipes, but none have come close to the traditional gluten-full version of crust dough. This mix nailed! It was so much fun making this with my daughter because it was like "real" dough. There was the waiting for the yeast to activated, the dough to rise (thankfully only one rise period instead of two), and the texture was a lot like real dough. You do have to cover your hands with lots of cornstarch to keep the dough from sticking, but it felt great to pat the dough out on to the pan instead of spreading it out like icing. My daughter didn't want to stop patting the dough.

So if you are looks for a traditional pizza crust recipe I would recommend Hodgson Mill's to you.

I decided to have a little fun with our pizza and I made taco pizza. I just used chili powder and cumin to season our tomato sauce then shredded chicken and cheddar cheese for the toppings. I cooked the pizza as directed on the box. I then put chopped tomato and lettuce on top of the pizza. It was good and big hit with the family. You could use re-fried beans instead of tomato sauce, but I'm more allergic to pinto beans then tomato, so the lesser of the two evils for us.

Quinoa Mini Quiches

My work had me come in an extra hour early this past week for a special breakfast promotion. So I needed something I could eat quickly that would fill me up and give me the fuel I needed to make it through the day, especially when I sometimes didn't get my break until the end of my 7 hour shift.

I love Pinterest and I love getting all sort of ideas and on there for just about everything. I've started making a deal with myself that if I pin something that I ought to making it or trying it out, instead of doing nothing. That way all the time I spend of Pinterest doesn't seem to fruitless and a waist of time. So I thought I would share with you all what works and what didn't and what I might have done differently. I've made 2 food boards on Pinterest for your following delights. The first one is gluten free and allergy friendly recipes and my recipes too. Those are under the heading Recipes To Make. The next board is food ideas that look fun that aren't allergy friendly or gluten free that inspire me to make allergy free versions of the same recipe. These are labeled Food Inspiration.

For my breakfast needs I followed the basic outline of this quinoa recipe here for Ham and Cheese Quiona Cups.  I did my quiches a little different. I used red quinoa, because it's what was in the house, and I didn't use cheese and I used different filling. The ham and cheese sound good and I might do that another time, but I wanted something a little different for my breakfast needs. I did come to the conclusion that I don't like how red quinoa looks when cooked. It just looks wrong, in my opinion. There are white rings, just like the white kind, but against the red it just looks really different and odd; but they still taste fine. So here is my recipe for quiona quiches and a bonus recipe for what I did with the left over quiona.

Quinoa Mini Quiches
2 cups cooked quinoa
3 eggs
2 sausage breakfast patties or 1/3 cup chopped meat of choice
1/4 hominy
1 Tbs onion
2 cups fresh spinach chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Pre heat oven to 350. Grease mini muffin tin. Mix the quinoa, meat, hominy and onion together. Beat the eggs and add to the mix and season. Add in the spinach and mix everything together well. Fill each mini muffin cup all the way full. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the egg has set and the edges are golden brown. Let them cool in the pan a few minutes before removing them. Spraying the pan between batches maybe helpful or use mini muffin papers.  Makes 2 1/2 dozen. Serving size is 2 per person.

Spinach and Tomato Quinoa Salad
2 cups cooked quiona
12 cherry tomatoes cut in half ( I used orange ones from a friends garden) 
1/4 black olives chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 cup fresh spinach chopped
Italian dressing (enough to coat the salad without drenching)
2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the indigence, except dressing and lemon juice, well. Then add the dressing to your desired amount. Then the lemon juice and salt and pepper to your fit your taste, as some dressings are not the same. Serves 4. 

The Craziness of Life

Burn scare from Waldo Canyon Fire

It's been awhile since my last blog post. The last post I wrote was about how do you choose things to take with you with you have to make the choice to leave your home. See last post here. We did end up leaving our home, more for smoke and ash, then the flames themselves, but our family did flee the Waldo Canyon fire the night it roared into the city. It was a terrifying time that I don't think anyone will forget. Every time our daughter sees dark clouds she thinks there is smoke. She wants to fight the fire, it is very cute, but I know that those images of the mountain completely in flames is stuck in her mind too. I'm starting with this point in our lives, even though it's been a few months, because it was where the craziness for our family began.

Soon after coming back home we had a choice to make - renew our rent or move. The reason for the choice is because my husband started his own business last year and it has been slow going with the economy. So we made the choice to move in with family until his business takes off and we can be more secure in our finances. This left us with 10 days to pack and move after just returning home and cleaning the ash off everything. We had to get out before our lease would go into next month. So we upped and moved and left our precious church and all of our friends. It has been heartbreaking, but we know that this is God's plan for us and it's the right move for our family.

To explain the photo I choose for the header of my blog because it shows how crazy and unpredictable life can be. The fire spared some homes and then destroyed neighborhoods. It's path was chaotic. Life can seem that way too and sometimes we just have to roll with it and then collect our selves after the dust settles. The fire is a marker in our family history of a turn of events and this photo that I took seems to capture those feelings.

Since moving our lives have kept on changing, and things are just beginning to look like their going to slow down. We've dealt with so much stress and the roller coaster of life seems to be in one of those spirals that keep flipping us upside down and then around again. I've started working - with in it self is a whole new chapter of life. I haven't worked a real job in 4 years. I did my light director duties for about 2 years, but it wasn't like a regular job with income and regular hours. I now work at Chick-fil-A. I'm glad I work for the company that I do and with the people that I do and that they do have gluten free options. It's been a challenge for me physically. I'm no spring chicken any more -no pun intended- and the simplest tasks have me aching at night. I hurt my writs, which wasn't a new injury, but one that is aggravated by my work that has slowed me from returning to the blog, and it is forcing me to wear a brace at night. It feels a little odd being literally 15 years older then most of my co-workers and I'm covered in bruises and sore from doing the same tasks they are doing. God really is growing me during this time. It's is only by His grace and mercy that I am making it through this period in our lives. I wish I knew what is next, but I remind my self daily, that I know He knows and that is ok with me.

From: Stock.xchng

I am trying to reconnect with the church I left 10 years ago and continue the work I was apart of in our last church. It's been a little frustrating because I know I can help them and they want my help, but it's a slow process to even get started. I think God is trying to teach me patience. It's feels odd to be back in the town I grew up in and nothing seems to be the same and it's even strange to run into people I knew from high school. Life sure is crazy. It's isn't the path I would have chosen but it's His story NOT mine.

I do promise some food writing in the near future now that things seem to be claimer.  I am sharing a kitchen with non-gluten free people, but it is going well. We are taking turns cooking and most of the baked goods are gluten free or we have non and gluten free options. So there may be more on how to share a kitchen blogs in the future . We've been having fun making vegetables into pancakes and waffles from a cousins recipe and it's been great to watch my daughter eat pink waffles made from beets -she likes them. We've been canning  peaches and apple sauce from relative's trees. I should also have some product reviews coming too since the selection of gluten free foods are different then what I was getting before.

So please stay tuned! I will get back to my regular blogging.

What would you bring?

I haven't openly mentioned where I live yet, but I have something on my heart and I can't help but mention where I live to fully express my feelings. If you haven't heard by now, 12 fires are burning in Colorado. I happen to live 10 miles from the one that is labeled the most important and sever, and the worst natural disaster this area has seen in 35-40 years. It's the Waldo Canyon Fire. The picture from above is from earlier today, and today is day 3. I've seen this fire from the start. I unfortunately have a really good view of the fire. I see some video on the news and I can turn and look out my window and sure enough see it with my own eyes. I can see the flames engulf the ridges and hills, the smoke, and the planes flying over.

My daughter was invited to a fire truck themed party right before it happened. As we arrived at the fire station for the tour the big engine had just left and after 30-45 minutes later the next engine was called out and we got to watch them go. Now I'm not worried, concerned for sure, but not freaking out. We have friends and past co-workers who have been evacuated. More friends waiting if they will be called out next. I've cleaned our place in case we have to receive some of these friends. I can't help but keep a watchful eye on the horizon. It's hard to ignore when your living room all of a sudden has an orange shadow, filling the room.

We are not physically threaten by the fire at the moment, however if the winds keep blowing in the wrong direction (for us, good for others) and if rain never seems to come then things could get ugly fast. If we do leave, for now, it will be because of smoke. I have asthma and right now my nose and throat burn. So to play it safe - I am married to an eagle scout after all - we have started to pack our bags.

So the big question: what would you pack if you had to leave your home and what if that home was burned to the ground?

I have no idea. At first I started packing clothes and the thing we need to get by for at least 72 hours. Then as time went on I thought about a few things like my daughter's baby book and scrap book, our wedding video, the video of our daughter's birth, important documents, keys, power cords. But I can't really thing of anything supper sentimental to pack. If we have time I would like to pack my wedding dress into the car, but who knows if the time comes if we will have room. We have a fire box, but even those can't with stand certain temps.

I have a good friend who has been through a lot. She lost her home in California due to a fire and is in the per-evacuation area in this fire. She has shared some words of wisdom in her blog and she also shared ( in a separate post) what she wished she saved from the first fire. Click here to read her very insightful writings.

I've thought about what she has written and I wonder what I would bring, and what I should do. I'm still perplexed on what to bring, mainly because I don't hold material things close. I go on a purging spree once or twice a year, so in a since that is a good thing. I'm not tied to material goods. I know I would miss things like my beagle ceramic collection, my grandpa's shoes that we got after he died. I don't have much in the way of family heirlooms. I packed at lot of my daughter's stuffed animals, some of which were mine. My husband owns his own business and has all of those things are together and ready. Much of our lives are digital so that kind of make things easier. I doubt we will have to leave, but when you can see a fire rage wildly on the mountains that you love, your priorities and perspective take a major shift.

As for helping, I have offered our home, air purifiers, and anything anyone needs. No one has taken me up on these things yet or has need of them and that is ok. I do know that the fire fighters are requesting GF snacks and that is something I can help with and help guide people who want to donate those items. I'm sure more opportunities will arise as time goes on and I will do what I can. Prayers are something I can offer all the time. Prayer and love are what matter most in the end. God always provides, somethings we have to be willing to receive and sometimes we have to be willing to be the vessel for that provision.

What would you choose to bring and what would you do to help?

Chocolate Banana Bread with Sunbutter Swirl

Weekends are insane at our house because of all the volunteering we do at church, especially me. Not only do I have to plan for meals for the family while I'm gone, but also my own meals to take with me too. I find that life is made a little easier on the weekends if I make some sweet bread or muffins to take with me that I can eat as a snack or as breakfast when I'm at church super early. This weekend was an extra long one and I wanted to make some banana bread to snack on but I didn't want just plain banana bread. So I thought why not jazz it up and you know it was so good and easy to do too.


Chocolate Banana Bread with Sunbutter Swirl
Banana Bread recipe from Pamela's Baking Mix
3 Tbs coco powder
1/4 cup Sunbutter Orginal Spread ( you can use peanut butter or any nut butter you like)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Make banana bread according to the recipe from Pamela's. Using a measuring cup, take out 1/3 cup of the batter and set side. Add the coco powder to the remaining batter and mix until well blended. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan. Mix together the reserved batter with the Sunbutter until well blended. Dollop the Sunbutter mixture on top of the batter in the loaf pan. Take a butter knife or spatula and  swirl it around in a figure 8 pattern to mix the two batters. You don't want them perfectly mixed, but well enough to get some Sunbutter into every slice. Bake for 1 hour as directed on package.

Cooking for the Non-Gluten Free

Have you ever had to cook for someone who just had a baby or just got out of the hospital and you want to bless them with a meal and they are not gluten free? I'm part of the meals ministry at my church so once in awhile I have to cook for someone else.

I try to keep my kitchen 100% allergy free. My husband has a small cupboard that he keeps his peanut butter, mac n cheese, soups, chili and snack items in that are off limits to the rest of the family. However, when I cook for someone else I don't always want to do the standard meat and vegetable dish, because sometimes that coasts more. Lets face it, pasta and other wheat based items are cheap. In addition, those who are recovering from a surgery or birth need their carbs. They need the energy to make it through 2 a.m feedings and the like. So I like to make homemade mac n cheese, pudding pies, and casseroles. So what do I have on hand to make these easy meals for someone else, while keeping a GF kitchen?

• dried pasta, usually macaroni
• hamburger helper or rice-a-roni (boxed items like these are very covenant and keep the pantry clean)
• graham cracker crusts
• pudding mix
• condensed milk

For Non-Gluten Free mac n cheese it is very simple to make. I just cook the pasta as normal (1lb bag) and drain. Melt 2 cups of cheese into a sauce pan with the condensed milk then pure over the top of the pasta and mix together in a oven safe casserole dish (aluminum if giving it to someone else, that way you don't need to ask for it back). Put more cheese on top and bake in a 350 degree oven till hot and bubbly and the cheese is melted on top. Pretty simple, huh? I usually do this for someone who just had a baby who has other kids, that way I know the kids will eat like it.

I have made my Mexican Lasagna before and that goes over really well too. I also like to make a dessert and I like doing non bake pudding pies. Graham cracker crusts usually come in a two pack or buy-one-get-one deal. To make a non bake pie it is very simple to do with any box of pudding mix. I like to make the crust on the pie golden brown by brushing the crust with egg white that has been beaten. Bake in at 375 degree oven for 5 minutes. You can use any pudding mix, just mix as directed on the box then place into the crust (once cooled if you are going to brown it) then refrigerate for at least 1 hour. I also found this great site that tells you how to make a pudding pie with some fun extra ingredient to jazz up just plain pudding; it's called Sky-is-the-limit pie.

So now you know my secrets to cooking for others while keeping a clean allergy free kitchen.

Only the Lonely

From: Stock.Exchng

There is a verse that has been bugging me for awhile, it is Proverbs 19:7

A poor man is shunned by all his relatives--how much more do his friends avoid him! Though he pursues them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found.

Everyone knows someone or has experienced it for themselves, the hardship that has come in our economic state. It saddens me because it is so easy is our way of life to let people fall into the cracks. It's something I've experienced and seen first hand. With the way our world works, if you don't keep up with the Jones' and keep up a certain level of appearance it's easy for people to just forget you and not reach out to you in hard times. It takes a lot of money, it seems to be friends with people, and  it shouldn't be that way.

Think about it. To be part of a MOPS or small social group it can be expensive to someone who can't afford to pitch in for a snack that everyone can share. Even more expensive if you have food allergies like we do, when you have to bring separate snacks, because you can't eat what is being offered to everyone else. You can't just go to the zoo or museums because of the cost of tickets. Play dates can be hard for those with food allergies too, because bread can cost so much and very little is picnic friendly, at least it is for my picky eater. If you have to share a car you can't go many places if your spouse needs it for work. You have to mindful of how frequently you drive and the distance because of gas prices. You can't afford a baby sitter. All of these things makes it very hard to be social in a world that is hurting so much by financial stress. Can you see how people can just get lost or forgotten? Someone just stops showing up to play group or bible study and no one follows up or asks where so 'n so.

Then there is the shame the other person feels because they can't go and do things with their friends, they can't pay to take their kids to the zoo, they can't drive the car so far because their spouse needs the gas. They try to do what they can by trying to host play dates at park near their house or offer to baby site so their children can have a friend over for a few house.

Our pastor this past week was talking about depression and how to help cope with depression or help a loved one who is currently suffering from depression. One of his points what that community is vital and I agree. When I had PPD after my daughter was born I felt better just getting out of the house and trying to make at least one play date a week. It was so hard to get up and get dressed and do things, but once I did I felt better. But the point that I'm trying to make is that those who suffer because they've lost their job or their spouses hours got cut or they were promoted without a pay increase and are now finding themselves in a place where the world seems empty and lonely. When going through hard times a friend are so vital and much needed, but often not available. Why?

We need people we are created that way. God gave Adam a wife because he was lonely. Having someone to talk to and share the good and bad with is necessary to not feel alone in this world and to see the hope that is going to come. When facing a hard time it is easy to be so wrapped up in all the bad and difficult things going on that the world just seems dark and empty. Where as a friend can shine some light and point out the good and the hopeful.

Those who are in need just don't need food and help with bills, but friendship to know that they aren't alone. It can be difficult to stand by someones side when they are facing a battle so hard that their seems to be no end. At first people are willing to help and offer support, but as the trail goes one, people start to drift away and become worn out because the trail just goes on and their seems to be no end. It's hard to be around someone who always seems to be a downer, but if they can't see the positives in life, how can they ever see good if someone doesn't stick to their side and show them the light?

God tells us to endure the trials of life, James 1:2-4. He also tells us to carry each others burdens Galatians 6:2. When Paul received aid he said it was a "fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God." Philippians 4:18. Helping others and taking care of those in need are commands from God. He tells us to take care of each other and to help those in need. When so many people are facing challenges and unending trails (as it appeasers) it is easy to see how so many are depressed and feeling hopeless in their circumstances.

We should all take time to find out how someone truly is doing and how they are feeling and befriend them. If they need help, help them, but most importantly be their friend. Don't let someone you know go through the trials of life alone. And messaging them on Facebook or Twitter doesn't count. Get some face to face time or at least call them on the phone.