Jalapeño Poppers

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I sure did.

Andy went jalapeño-happy today. He made jalapeño poppers, chicken-wrapped jalapeños, salsa with jalapeños, and grilled some jalapeño sausage (Eckrich, I think). In the picture, the chicken one is on the left and the popper is on the right.

I ate quite a few of the chicken wraps (with the jalapeños removed), but was too chicken to try the popper (I am 5 1/2 months pregnant after all, and still sick from it). The chicken was so juicy! I just couldn’t get enough of it.

Jalapeño Poppers

6 jalapeño peppers
1-2 8 oz packages of cream cheese
6 slices of bacon - uncooked
toothpicks

Put on some latex (or other such material) gloves to protect yourself from the jalapeño oils. Cut off the tops of the jalapeños, slice down the middle, and remove the seeds.
Fill the two halves of a jalapeño with cream cheese (as much as you want).
Wrap one piece of bacon around the jalapeño and secure with a toothpick. Repeat until all are done.
Grill until the bacon is cooked. These can stay on the grill longer than that, even.

Chicken-Wrapped Jalapeños

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
a few jalapeño peppers
about a package of bacon
toothpicks

Again, protect yourself with latex gloves. Cut the jalapeños into strips (removing the tops and seeds). The width would depend on your preference (we used slices about a half-inch wide).
Slice the chicken into about 2-inch strips (the length of the breast). Pound it thin with a meat tenderizer.
Wrap a piece of chicken around a slice of jalapeño. Wrap a slice of bacon around the chicken. Secure with a toothpick. Repeat until all are done.
Grill until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

GF Pantry Muffin Mix

I finally got around to making these muffins. When I was in Richmond last year for the GIG Education Conference, my mom called me, very excited, to let me know she found some gf muffin and brownie mixes at Wal-Mart. They are made by Gluten-Free Pantry, and come in a regular cake-sized box. In my Wal-Mart, they can be found in with the Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines mixes. They are under $3 a box.

I made 2 batches - one blueberry, and one chocolate chip. The muffins did not brown on the top. Here’s an important tip for you: spray the muffin liners with Pam. The muffins really stuck to the liners. Unfortunately, I had the second batch ready to go by the time the first one came out of the oven.

The mix calls for 3/4 cup of dried fruit, nuts or chocolate chips. I used a full cup of dried blueberries, and next time, I will use more (because I love lots of blueberries in my muffins). I used 1 & 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, and added some dried blueberries at the end of that batch. I got 15 blueberry muffins, and 12 chocolate chip and 6 chocolate chip and blueberry muffins.

We thought these were pretty good muffins. When Andy first picked one up, he thought it was very dense, but upon biting into it, found out that it is not. Next time I make them, I will try using some club soda or sparkling fruit juice to try to make them even lighter. They must have been pretty good, because Andy ate 7 muffins (though don’t tell, it’s our little secret).

One box will feed a family of four for breakfast (unless someone goes crazy on the muffins). I plan on freezing what’s left, so I can have one whenever I want.

I will definitely buy these again, and let the stores know that I want gf food!  Also, it doesn’t take very long to prepare, and they are pretty good.  (Easy for teenagers or spouses that don’t like to bake from scratch, too!)

P.S. I have heard someone say that they used the extra batter, added another egg and a little more milk, and made some really good pancakes.

Enchiladas

I had the pleasure of having some real Mexican enchiladas this weekend.

My little brother just graduated from college, and his mother-in-law threw a party for him.  She is from Costa Rica, and some of her best friends are from Mexico.  They helped her out and made the enchiladas for the party.  Marjorie (Corey’s MIL) made sure the whole meal was gluten-free, except for the cake (from a bakery).  She made sure to have fruit for me, since the baby is not inclined to let me eat sugar (as she was going to make sure there was ice cream for me).  We had a wonderful dinner, and a great time just sitting around and talking.

I wish I could give you a recipe, but I can’t.  Apparently, these ladies are taster-cooks (which is totally fine - that’s how I often cook).  Everything but the corn tortillas were made from scratch.  But here’s the real secret - they lightly fry the corn tortillas (individually) prior to rolling, and that’s what keeps them soft and together.  Nifty, huh?  Now, you may have noticed that the chicken enchilada in the picture is not quite together.  There was a little too much going on, and they forgot about them a bit, and ended up scraping off the top (though I doubt they were that burnt).  At any rate, they were sooooo good.

So next time you make enchiladas, why not try lightly frying your corn tortillas first, and see what kind of difference it makes for you.

Pamela’s Mix - Chocolate Chip Cookies

On Sunday, I came upstairs for a little break from the noise and set to work on my computer. It wasn’t that long before I went back downstairs, and found a container of cookies on the counter, and a little presentation plate set up. Where did they come from?

Andy and the boys had made cookies using the Pamela’s mix, and the recipe on the bag. He found that the 15 minutes called for was too crisp for his liking, so he tried 8 minutes for the next sheet. Those were nice, but didn’t really hold together as well.

We liked the taste and texture of the cookies. However, we do prefer the pudding cookie recipe. You could use the Pamela’s mix in this recipe, too. You know, I think we need to make some pudding cookies. We sorta missed out on Teacher Appreciation Week last week, since we were all sick. I think Braden’s teacher could use some cookies and brownies.

Time Is Running Out

The deadline is approaching to get the early bird pricing for the Gluten Intolerance Group’s Annual Education Conference. Register by May 21st to save some money. Conference dates are June 6 and 7, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

This conference is going to be a total blast. I know - I helped organize it. And, if you come, you can meet me Alive and In Person (and with a 6-month-pregnant belly, lol). I mean, you all want to come just to meet me, right?

Well, if that’s not a good enough reason, then let me give you some more.

We are going to have some fabulous speakers. Cookbook authors: Roben Ryberg, Carol Fenster, Annalise Roberts, and Jennifer Cinquepalmi. Dieticians: Shelley Case and Cathy Breedon. Gluten-Free life experts: Danna Korn and Andrea Levario. Doctors: Michelle Pietzak, Edward Hoffenburg, Jean Layton, Steve Wangen and Megan Tichy. And let us not forget our guest speaker, the one and only, Dr. Alessio Fasano (he will be speaking at the Saturday night banquet).

A Texas Hoedown Barbeque and Dance awaits us for the Friday night entertainment. We are going to have a Singing Cowboy, and line dance instructor. Come have some fun, Texas-Style! Our Saturday night banquet will have such a wonderful atmosphere. We get to be a little fancied-up, eat, and chat with our new friends, listen to Dr. Fasano speak, and participate in a live auction, which helps fund the various children’s camps that GIG puts on every year.

I even have the inside scoop on the items for the live auction. Shh. Come closer and I’ll tell you a few.

• Four different bed and breakfast packages, including the famous (to my blog readers, anyways) Chicken Paradise
• Two autographed Dallas Cowboys footballs
• A personal chef service
• A set of two American Airlines tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. (round trip!)
• Sunday morning breakfast with Dr. Fasano (ladies, I know y’all want to bid on this one)

We’ve got some great silent auction items that will be available to bid on Friday and Saturday. Some will even have a “buy now” option if you’ve just got to have it. Here’s a few to tickle your fancy:

• Texas/Southwest themed kitchenware
• Giftcards from nationally recognized restaurants
• Unique handmade gifts, like jewelry from my friend, Tara
• Lots of great gluten-free food baskets

We had some ideas to spruce up the conference a bit, and make it even more user-friendly:

• A pack and mail service available, for all the food, books, and auction items you buy
• Chair massages
• A walk-around breakfast, where the vendors supply the carbs (get ready to chow down)
• A book table, run by me (and David, our treasurer), to outfit you with the speakers’ books - because I know you’ll want to buy some

If you are bringing a companion who is not into the whole conference thing, they will be just minutes away from Grapevine Mills Mall, which has just about everything, including a huge movie theater and other entertainment areas. Check out this Vacation In Texas brochure I helped create for more ideas.

So come and join us. It will be the highlight of your summer. I know it will be mine!

Pink Is My Favorite Color

It is, actually (I have become girlie in my adulthood).  But, dun dun dun duh!  I now get to buy a lot of pink.  We had our sonogram today, and it sure looks like a girl.  We are all very excited.

GoGo Rice Bowls

For lunch today, I tried a new (to me) product: GoGo Rice Bowls. Specifically, I had the Thai peanut.

Does life get much easier than microwaving a bowl of rice for a minute and a half? It’s healthy, too. The ingredients are: organic white rice, peanuts, dried mango, millets, kosher salt, dried carrots, spices, filtered water.

The Thai peanut is spicy. It is completely unlike A Taste of Thai or Thai Kitchen peanut noodles (which are completely unlike each other). I really don’t know how to describe this. You just have to try it for yourself.

These would be great to have around for minor emergencies, like finding out at the last minute that you are not eating at home, lol. I will definitely try the other varieties when I get the chance.

Attune Probiotic Bars

I recently received some samples of Attune Probiotic Wellness Bars (thanks, Sarika!). When she told me they were chocolate bars, I didn’t know what to expect. Boy was I surprised.

It’s almost like eating a Hershey’s bar, except there is less sugar, less funky ingredients, and they are good for you. They have 5 times the live cultures as yogurt. (You can read more about probiotics on their site.)

It really is like eating a good chocolate bar, though less sweet than what most people buy (which is better, IMO). I really liked eating these. Andy tried one, and incredulously asked “these are supposed to be good for you? They just taste like chocolate.” The response from my support group was similar - it’s basically good chocolate.

Oh, yeah, it also contains 12% of your daily value of fiber - the same as a serving of Metamucil (which I have only actually managed to drink once - ick).

Attune chocolate bars come in 4 flavors: chocolate crisp, dark chocolate, mint chocolate, and blueberry vanilla (made with white chocolate). Best of all, these are gluten-free. (FYI - they do make granola bars that are not.)

So if you like to help boost your immune system, or you just want a yummy chocolate bar (that’s good for you), then give these products a try.