Chebe Bread Mix Review

 We all know that going GF is expensive. So when I first went GF I stumbled upon these mixes that were tucked away on the end of the gluten free aisle. These mixes cost about $2-3 and are very simple to make. They don't make alot so they are perfect for small families or that one lone GF person in a family or single people. Although they are cheap enough you could by a few for the price of one big box of a different brand. They come in many variates, from focaccia bread, to cinnamon buns, to pizza crust and more.  When I was doing my weekly shopping I found Chebe mixes on my local big grocery store (not just my local health foods shop). This time around they were in boxes instead of bags. I have to say I really like the new packaging.

So to see if they have changed more then the packaging I bought a box of their bread mix. I've used their other mixes but not this one, so I gave it a try.  As you can see they clearly show you what is NOT in their mixes. I especially love that they are yeast free. The instructions are very easy and simple. I do have to had more water or oil then they suggest because of the altitude that I live at, but only a Tbs more or so. I do love their suggestions on the box to create or add things to their basic recipe. I did add some cheese to mine, because my daughter is a cheese nut. They came out really well and my daughter loved the bread, even the next day she liked it with some jelly and Sunbutter.

Chebe Burgers are really simple to make. I just followed the instructions on the box to make the dough, like I said I did add cheese to mine as one of their suggestions on the box. I did add some more water, but not much at all. However, I did find that it would have been easier to kneed the dough and form them into the right shape if I had wet hands. If I had wet my hands I might not have added the extra water, that would have made them too wet. Once baked I just let them cool for a few minutes before using a long knife to cut them in half. They are prefect to use a buns, and they cost way less then any pre-made GF bun you will ever find in the stores. I wish I had made and brought some of these to the worship department cook out I went to earlier this month. Oh well, live and learn. I hope you find some and enjoy. Make sure you check out their web site for lots of recipe ideas.

Chocolate Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

From: Stock.Xchng

I love cherry season. There is just something about these little dark red round fruited that just make summer, well...summer. This is an ice cream recipe that I made up over a  year ago and it is now our summer favorite that we will make every year. Nothing goes better with cherries then chocolate and nothing goes better with chocolate then cherries. They are a perfect flavor combo match.

In this recipe I tried something new. I had used chia seeds to see how they would work in an ice cream and they did alright. I made just plain chocolate and you couldn't see the tiny black specks, but I wasn't sure I liked the texture that they created in the ice cream. So I did some research and found that Spunky Coconut has made ice cream using gelatin. So I tried it and it turned out great. The texture is perfect and it makes dairy free ice cream not stiff or hard. My husband wants me to making ice cream with gelatin from here on out, and why not is sure beats xanthan gum. If you are going to use gelatin my advice is to make sure you get every drop into your ice cream mixture and to not let it harden while you are getting everything together.

Chocolate Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

1 quart dairy free milk (I used hemp, but soy and rice works too.)

1 cup cherries pitted and chopped

3 Tbs cocoa powder 

1 cup dark chocolate chunks

3/4 cup of honey or brown rice syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 package of gelatin dissolved in 1/4 cup of warm water

dash of salt

Mix milk, cocoa powder, honey, vanilla, gelatin, and salt in a blender. Once they all mixed add them to the ice cream maker and follow the instructions for your machine. Once ice cream is done and is ready to be chilled or served, stir in the chocolate chunks and the cherries into the ice cream.  Stir well to make sure that they don't sink to the bottom. Makes 2 quarts.

Gluten Free Rice Krispies Treats with Sunbutter and Review

 

Rice Krispies is one of those cereals that has been around for a long time. Everyone knows of them and either grew up on them or a cheaper version of this puffed riced cereal. So when Kellogg announced that it was going to make the popular cereal Gluten Free I was excited. I have been wanting to share with my daughter a cereal that I to grew up on and I want to make treats for her too. I wanted those fond memorizes with my daughter that they so strategically put into their commercials.

It took awhile for the cereal to hit the store shelves in my part of the world, but once I saw that light yellow box with blue on the shelf I ran to it in excitement. However, when I saw the price tag, my excitement burst. They want almost $5 for this box of crisped rice. I can get two boxes of Envirokidz's Koala Crisp's for the same price. Also, you can Fruity Pebbles Gluten Free version of their cereal for $3 for the family size big box and Target often has them for two for $5 deal too. None the less a  box did get purchased and into our family pantry (mainly for you all).  

The cereal it self tastes about the same, but I do agree with another review that I saw saying that the cereal does get soggy faster. My daughter seems to like it so-so. I was happy to see that they are made out of brown rice and not just white rice. So I made some treats with it and that turned out really well. I added some Sunbutter to them to make them a bit more healthy and for a nice nutty flavor. I think adding the Sunbutter was a hit with the whole family. I will always make them this way from now on.

Sunbutter Rice Krispie Treats
Rice Krispie treat recipe as stated on box or web site
3 Tbs sunbutter



Grease a 13 x 9 x 2 pan and set aside. Add butter and sunbutter to sauce pan to melt. Then add the marshmallows. Take off heat and add cereal, stir till well combined. Pour into the pan and press down either with hands or spatula ( I found that my hands worked the best). Make sure that cereal mixture is evenly spread. Cut into squares once cooled. 


On a side note: I used cheap marshmallows and they didn't seem to melt well. So if you can swing it I suggest getting the good marshmallows. Next time I might try marshmallow fluff, because this whole melting thing just didn't go all that great for me. I want easy when I make a treat for my family.

An Update and a Lesson on Trusting God

There has been a lot of things going on the last few weeks that have prevented me from writing on here. I have several recipes and insights I would love to share with you all, but I feel that I must update what has been going on and why I haven't been writing.

This summer has gotten very busy, we've had a number of birthday parties and baby showers to attend to and I'm very thankful that my last blog entry was my Pumpkin Cupcakes because they have really come in handy with all of these parties. Also, my husband changed jobs a couple of times so getting use to his schedule and everything associated with a new job, not once but twice, this summer has made things a little crazy at home. I was also asked to be the light director of our church. If you have kept up on my blog you would know that I am already pretty active in that ministry, but now I have more responsibility. So, as you can see I needed some time to let the dust settle before I started writing again.

One thing that has really stood out for me during this time is how much God is in control and will guide our steps and our days, we just have to let him. When I let God control my day and my to do list things will most likely not go as I planned and not in the way I would do things either, but the end goal will be better then I could imagine. Sometimes waiting is the hardest part. We live in a society that everything must be now, this very minute. I'm the kind of person that paces in front of the microwave when it only has 30 seconds left. During this time of busy transitions for my family I've learned to bite my tongue when I want to talk about a subject or give to God my impatiences when I want to do something to speed things along.

Waiting on God is a lot like waiting for water to boil at high altitude. People who live at sea level have it easy, they turn on the stove and in minutes they have boiling water. I have to turn on the stove and wait 15 minutes for water to boil. It can make cooking dinner seem to take forever when everyone is hungry and ready. Boiling water and waiting in God's timing is like the old saying "A watched pot never boils." It will soon boil, but it seems like it never will, but as soon as you turn your back it's boiling. Same is with God and waiting for his timing. If we are so focused on when God is going to answer our prayers it will seem like he is never going to answer, but as soon as we let it go and come to an understanding that it will come in it's own good time, that is when God answers prayer.

I recently did a study on Abraham. He waited till he was 100 years old to have a child. His wife was also very old, in her 90's. They prayed and asked God many times when they were going to get a child. God made a promises that he would, but they still had to wait many decades. But when the baby did come it was perfect timing. God had great plans for that baby and the birth of that baby fit into God's over all plans for everyone. The timing was perfect. Also, no one couldn't doubt that the birth of this child wasn't a miracle from God based on the age of the parents. This story not only shows the glory of God, but how God will answer prayers. Abraham made a few mistakes and still God gave him his promised son. Abraham was sorry for the things he did, but his sins didn't push back the timing of his promised son or delete the promise.

"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." John 15:7

 We can ask God for what we want, but please understand that this verse points out that if you are in His word that the things that are on His heart will also be in yours. God is the great Father. He gives his children what they need and want, just like a good parent. I always try to give my daughter what I knows she needs, even if she wants something else. For example, candy for dinner. That's never going to happen, but I know she wants food. At the same time I like to give her presents and I love seeing her face light up when I give her something she's been wanting. God is the same, even better, because he is God.

So if you are going through a difficult time, give it to God and wait on him. Listen to him to see if he has any direction for you and trust him with everything.