The other night I was running around in circles. I had to unexpectedly take Jon back to the doctor (love The Little Clinic at Kroger), pick up Hannah’s friend, take them both to gymnastics, go get Jon’s prescription filled, grocery shop, pick Hannah and her friend up, take said friend home, come home and unload groceries. I didn’t even get a chance to think about feeding myself until after 9:00 PM. After taking one look at my tired & frustrated face, my amazing husband offered to cook some shrimp for me! I took him up on that and went to work brainstorming about what I could do with my shrimp.

I finally decided on Shrimp Tacos. I have been thinking about them for a while and that was the perfect night to put the plan into action. I already had some sautéed kale in the refrigerator, so all I had to do was heat up the corn tortillas and cut up some lime & avocado.

Aaron sautéed the shrimp in some basil infused olive oil from Lucini. When the shrimp were finished, I went to work assembling my tacos. Corn tortilla, sautéed kale, shrimp & avocado. Squeezed a little lime juice on top and paired with a salad. Super simple and fantastic!!! I wish I would have taken a picture to show you all, but I was so tired and cranky, it was all I could to do get that food into my stomach.

***picture courtesy of Lucini

I reviewed several products from Lucini earlier this year. They have some very unique products, such as the Cinque e Cinque mix. Definitely worth taking a glance at.

While we don’t seem to be getting as much snow as some places in the Midwest, we are getting enough. It began raining last night and wasn’t supposed to turn over to snow until noon today. Guess what, they were wrong. We noticed the change between 9:00 and 10:00 AM this morning. Now our backyard looks like a winter wonderland. They are predicting 1-3 inches, but at the time I posted this, we are already over that and the storm isn’t supposed to end for 12+ hours yet.

Along with snow and cold weather comes illness. Jon was the innocent victim this past week with a sore, headache and cough. He is still fighting it. I took him to the Minute Clinic earlier this week to make sure it wasn’t strep. He just has a nasty virus. Poor kid! He did manage to play hockey this weekend, sick, and they won all 3 games. They are now 4 and 0 in their season!

Since I didn’t hit the grocery store today, I will me be creating meals from the pantry & freezer this week. I did have Aaron pick up some milk and fresh produce yesterday, but we skipped the weekly trip today. I have been in my jammies all day and I am loving it!

Sunday – Shrimp, kale & Schar pasta with salad

Monday – Steelhead trout, coconut brown rice, green beans & salad

Tuesday -Taco Tuesday – salads or Mexican pizzas this week

Wednesday -BBQ chicken breasts, baked potatoes, broccoli & salad

Thursday -Dinner out with a friend/leftovers for the family

Friday -Pizza (make your own pizza) night & salad

Saturday -Breakfast for dinner

Baked Goods

Christmas cookies

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Don’t forget to enter the Gluten-Free Holiday Giveaway Galore x 10!! Only 2 more days!!

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Weekly Recap:

Gluten-free Weight Loss Webinar

My favorite Chebe products.

Schar cookie review.

Gluten Free Deals

Gluten-Free Food becoming more abundant in local stores.

Holiday Baking Company offers Christmas menu.

Do you ever put certain foods together that other people would cringe at? I used to have all kind of interesting combos when I was a kid: my Grandmas meat loaf, mashed potatoes, gravy & peas all mixed up and chili and mashed potatoes topped with cheese are just a couple that stand out in my head. My sister still eats one of her childhood favorite combinations – Doritos and applesauce. I don’t think I have ever tried that, or not that I recall. I may have blocked it out. LOL! Anyway, I don’t judge, as to each his own.

The other day I was craving a tuna melt. I meandered into the kitchen and started to pull out the ingredients to create my meal and realized I had no base for the melt. I had run out of my Food for Life English Muffins and Trader Joe’s French Rolls. Clearly I was slacking in the gluten-free grocery department or eating too many carbs – maybe a little of both. I began to brainstorm about what I could use for the base. Did I want to bake? Not really. I just wanted to eat. I spotted my corn tortillas in the refrigerator and a light bulb went on – tuna melt tostadas! This turned out so good that I may be using this as a new standby in my lunch line up!

This turned out even better than I thought it would! I would absolutely make this again in a heartbeat!

Tuna Melt Tostadas

2 corn tortillas (most are gluten-free, but please double check the label to make sure)

Cooking spray

1 single serving pouch of tuna (I used the 2.5 ounce Bumble Bee)

1-2 tsp Hellman’s Canola Mayo (says “gluten-free” on the jar)

1 tsp sweet pickle relish (I used Meijer – says “GF” on the jar)

1 squirt French’s Spicy Mustard (Trader Joe’s is good, too)

Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 – 400 degrees.

2. Combine tuna, mayo, relish and mustard. Set aside.

3. Place corn tortillas on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Spray tops of corn tortillas with cooking spray.

4. Bake tortillas until they start to brown & get crisp.

5. Top tortillas with tuna mixture and cheddar cheese. Broil until warm & melty.

6. Enjoy!

You can mix things up and add other ingredients to your tuna mix – celery, Sriracha, Red Hot, etc. Be creative!

What is the weirdest food combination you have ever tried? Do you have one that you eat on a regular basis?

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If you haven’t already entered the giveaway that I am hosting along with 9 other bloggers, make sure to do that now! Click here for more info.

Before I get started with my crazy week, I would like to take a moment to wish my sister, Kelly, a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I won’t disclose how old she is, but I can say that she closed the gap for the next 5 weeks and is only 1 year younger than me!

Last night we head to Bonefish Grill with a couple of friends. I was a bit hesitant to eat out since my luck hasn’t been the best lately and I seem to be sending back an awful lot of food. I am pleased to report that we had an amazing meal, complete with a Black Cherry Guava Mojito full of cherries!! Man, that drink was tasty! I had the Chilean Sea Bass with chimichurri, jasmine rice, broccoli and we all split the crème brulee for dessert. The only issue we had was that they forgot to bring Aaron’s salad. It is always something, huh?

This week continues with a super busy schedule. Is it time to hibernate yet?

Sunday – Pei Wei take out

Monday – Grilled chicken marinated in Italian dressing, baked potatoes, broccoli & salad

Tuesday – Mexican pizzas, corn, refried beans

Wednesday – Eggplant Parmesan, spaghetti & salad

Thursday-Burgers, sweet potato puffs, green beans & salad

Friday – Individual pizzas and salad

Saturday -Breakfast for dinner

Baked Goods

Lemon bars

Bread

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Weekly Recap

Don’t forget to enter my fun giveaway – click here to enter! Hurry, you only have until the 15th!

NFCA offers a webinar to help get you through the holidays.

Gluten-free Yogi Tea to help keep you warm!

Livefreeda is a new approach to the gluten-free diet.

The Gluten-Free Bar review.

‘Tis the season for gift giving.

I get a lot of interesting samples to sample & review for my blog. One of the most interesting products I have received were the Savory Choice all-natural broth concentrates. This is not bouillon, but a concentrate that you add liquid to to create an amazing broth. The broth can then be used for any soups, stuffing, cooking rice, etc.

Savory Choice is a product made by Savory Creations International. Some more information about SCI:

Founded in 2003 by a team of experts with over 30 years experience in the food industry, Savory Creations International mission is to develop, manufacture, and distribute competitively priced food products that use only the highest-quality natural flavors and ingredients.
We’re committed to delivering only “Clean Label” products that contain no chemical additives such Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), hydrolyzed vegetable proteins (HVPs), or Disodium Inosonate + Disodium Guanalate (I + G).

Savory Choice is a line of exceptional liquid broth concentrates made from natural ingredients. Developed using proprietary natural flavor technologies the result is superior taste, aroma, and overall quality.

The Savory Choice liquid broth concentrates come in several different varieties:

Chicken Flavor -Liquid broth concentrate packed in single-serve foil pouches; Free of MSG, preservatives, gluten, trans-fats, and non-GMO; Great value: 1 box (4 stick pouches) makes 32 ounces of chicken broth (equal to 2 x 14 oz cans or 1 quart boxed broth); Uses: soups, stews, gravies, or as an ingredient in your marinade; Convenience: no more opening a full box of broth when you only need 1 cup; Each stick pouch of liquid broth concentrate is reconstituted with 1 cup (8 oz) hot water.

Reduced Sodium Chicken Flavor –Reduced sodium verision of the above. Only 360mg sodium vs. 770mg sodium.

Beef Flavor –Liquid broth concentrate packed in single-serve foil pouches; Free of MSG, preservatives, gluten, trans-fats, and non-GMO; Great value: 1 box (4 stick pouches) makes 32 ounces of beef broth (equal to 2 x 14 oz cans or 1 quart boxed broth); Uses: soups, stews, gravies, or as an ingredient in your marinade; Convenience: no more opening a full box of broth when you only need 1 cup; Each stick pouch of liquid broth concentrate is reconstituted with 1 cup (8 oz) hot water.

Beef Demi Glace – Free of MSG, preservatives, gluten, trans–fats, and non-GMO; Restaurant quality sauce in minutes that is perfect to drizzle over steaks; Uses: enhance stews and soups; Perfect for braising pot roasts and short ribs; Each pouch makes 1/4 cup demi glace (four 1 ounce servings.

Reduced Sodium Vegetable Flavor –Reduced sodium; Liquid broth concentrate packed in single-serve foil pouches; Free of MSG, preservatives, gluten, trans-fat, and non-GMO; Great value: 1 box (4 stick pouches) makes 32 ounces of vegetable broth; (equal to 2 x 14 oz cans or 1 quart boxed broth); Uses: soups, stews, gravies, or as an ingredient in your marinade; Convenience: no more opening a full box of broth when you only need 1 cup; Each stick pouch of liquid broth concentrate is reconstituted with 1 cup (8 oz) hot water.

Turkey Flavor – Finally, turkey broth that tastes like turkey, not chicken; Liquid broth concentrate packed in single-serve foil pouches; Free of MSG, preservatives, gluten, trans-fat, and non-GMO; Great value: 1 box (12 stick pouches) makes 96 ounces of turkey broth; (equal to 7 x 14 oz cans or 3 x 1 quart boxed broth); Uses: soups, stews, gravies, injection, brine, or as an ingredient in your marinade; Convenience: no more opening a full box of broth when you only need 1 cup; Each stick pouch of liquid broth concentrate is reconstituted with 1 cup (8 oz) hot water.

I used the Chicken broth to make brown rice and our Thanksgiving stuffing. I used the Vegetable broth to make this amazing soup from Jules Sheperd Dowler of Jules Gluten Free Flour. Such a warm, comforting meal on a cold winter day! I loved how easy the concentrates were to make into a broth. All you do is take 1 cup of hot water and mix with 1 stick of concentrate. So simple! I enjoyed the flavor of the broths as is, in addition to using them in another dish.

Butternut Soup

The cost of this product is very reasonable at $2.29/box of 4 sticks of concentrate (4 cups of broth). The 12 stick boxes are priced at $4.99. There are many places across the US and online to purchase the Savory Choice liquid concentrates. If you are looking to get creative, make sure to check out the recipes page on the Savory Choice website.

I am so thrilled to be a part of this amazing giveaway that I can’t contain my excitement! I love this kind of stuff so that I can help spread the gluten-free word and get great products into my readers’ hands.

Katie Chalmers, Author and Illustrator of the unique new book, “Mommy, What is Celiac Disease ?” is offering (think: perfect gift!) the “Gluten-Free Holiday Giveaway Galore x10!” to 10 lucky winners. Where do I come in? I get to host 1 of the 10 giveaways, meaning that 1 of my lucky readers will win the amazing prizes below:

PRIZE CONTENT DETAILS:

-Signed copy of Mommy, What is Celiac Disease?

-Schar 123 Milly PlayMais- dice game & biodegradable natural toy activity brick set

-Schar products: Cheese Bites, Chocolate -or- Vanilla Sandwich Creme Cookies, Hazelnut Wafers

-Pamela’s Products: Single Serve Pancake Mix, Single Serve Brownie Mix, Dark Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookie two-pack, Tablespoon/teaspoon measuring spoon, kids sized t-shirt- color will vary

-Nature’s Path: Peanut Butter Panda Puffs & crispy rice bars- flavors will vary, $1 off coupons

-Mary’s Gone Crackers: one of the following: box of cookies -or- crackers -or- Sticks & Twigs

-Snyder’s of Hanover: bag of gluten-free pretzel sticks

-Chebe: pizza crust mix -or- all purpose bread mix

-Bob’s Sweet Stripes: one bag of soft peppermint candy sticks

-Stuffed teddy bear: colors may vary

-Holiday pencils, eraser, holiday notepad & plastic snowman cereal bowl

-Large holiday gift bag & small holiday gift bag & tissue paper- will need to be assembled to give as gift

*Contents may vary

I was able to read this book a month or so ago and was really impressed with it. Not only are the pictures attractive to the adult eye, but to a young child’s eye, too. I’ve shared this book with my daughter (8) and God daughter (3) and they both loved the little girl (and her curly hair). Inspiration for the little girl in the book came from Chalmers’ own daughter, Morgan, who was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2008. The book helps explain what Celiac Disease is in terms that are easy for a younger child to understand. Topics covered in the book include foods that are safe for the gluten-free diet and ideas about what to do when your child needs to avoid gluten-containing food away from home and bring along something safe to eat. The book ends by talking about how eating is such a small part of life and concentrating on all of the fun things there are to do in life helps us keep a positive attitude. I love all of the positivity radiating from this book! It is easy to get discouraged with a new diagnosis, especially one that involves a major diet change like the gluten-free diet. Explaining all of the details can be made just a little easier (and fun) with a book like “Mommy, What is Celiac Disease?”

I am hosting this giveaway in conjunction with these 9 other gluten-free/celiac bloggers. The giveaway will run from from Wed. Dec. 1 – Wed. Dec. 15, 2010:

Accustomed Chaos – Devan

Adventures of a GF Mom – Heidi

Be Free For Me – Kathleen

Celiac Family – Heather

Gluten Free Betsy – Betsy

Gluten Free Easily (gfe) – Shirley

Gluten Free Philly – Michael

Gluten Free Taste of Home – Cinde

Simply Sugar & Gluten Free – Amy

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Contest Rules:

• All 10 of these contests are open to residents of the USA. Only the Accustomed Chaos & Gluten-Free Easily contests are also open to Canadian residents.

• All 10 contests begin on Wed. Dec. 1, 2010 and will end on Wed. Dec. 15, 2010 at 10pm EST.

• Entry requirements will vary between bloggers. Please follow their directions to enter.

• Entrants can only win once total within all 10 giveaways. If anyone is chosen more than once as a winner, another winner will be chosen so everyone only wins once.

• One winner per household.

• Winners with valid entries will be selected at random. The winners will be announced and notified via email and must reply within 24 hours to claim. Otherwise, another eligible entry will be chosen, in order that all prizes will arrive before Christmas. So please remember to check your email on Dec.16th.

• If any of the 10 prizes do not arrive before Christmas because of any unforeseen holiday mail rush problems, the USPS, Katie Chalmers and hosting bloggers will not be held accountable.

Now, all you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling me what your favorite gluten-free product is.

For additional entries, complete one or more of the following, leaving a comment for each one completed.  This can increase your chances of winning.

1.  Follow me on Twitter.

2.  “Like” Gluten-free is Life on Facebook

3.  Subscribe to my blog or blog about this giveaway & link back.

Good luck!!

Did you head out to shop on Black Friday? We did! My mom, sister, Hannah and I hit the road at 4:00 AM for our coffee at Caribou and then hit the mall. We scored some great deals including a new toaster over for $19 and a Shark Steam Mop for $49. I am loving the steam mop! LOL! We shopped for over 12 hours stopping only to eat, which we did 3 times over that period! Shopping makes me hungry!

Today is another great day to score some deals – Cyber Monday! I even found a gluten-free site getting in on some Cyber Monday specials at Glutenfree.com. They are offering 25% off everything with the code “CYBERSHOP” at checkout. The code is good until 11:59 PM PST tonight (11/29/2010). I think I am going to get some Schar sub rolls and Glutino Chocolate Covered Pretzels!

Here are just some of the brands that can be found at Glutenfree.com:

• Udi’s
• Glutino
• Schar
• Ener-G
• Gluten-Free Pantry
• Amy’s Kitchen
• Bakery on Main
• Lara’s
• Bob’s Red Mill
• Enjoy Life

Now, go get your shop on! 😉

Stay tuned for some fun later this week – another giveaway! This giveaway will be done in conjunction with some other bloggers in addition to myself! Katie Chalmers, Author and Illustrator of the unique new book, “Mommy, What is Celiac Disease?”, is offering (think: perfect gift!) the “Gluten-Free Holiday Giveaway Galore x10!” to 10 lucky winners. Click here for more details. Make sure to check out Katie’s Facebook page, too!

When I was asked if I wanted to receive a copy of Jules new cookbook, Free for All Cooking, I was thrilled! I love Jules Gluten Free Flour and was excited to get my hands on a new cookbook. The cookbook contains 150 easy, gluten-free, allergy-friendly recipes that the whole family can enjoy.

Part I of the book discussed ingredients and substitutions. What foods are safe, basic, naturally gluten-free foods, egg substitutes, dairy substitutes and ingredients to avoid. If you are just beginning the gluten-free diet or trying to learn how to cook and bake gluten-free for a friend or family member, this book is a great resource.

Part II of the book is the recipes. Jules goes to great lengths to share a wide variety of recipes that can accommodate nearly every dietary restriction. Each recipe is labeled with an icon that notates which diets the dish is safe for. The different notations include:

• gluten-free
• dairy-free
• nut-free
• soy-free
• egg-free
• vegetarian (not necessarily vegan)

There are recipes for Breakfast Foods, including Pop-Tarts, granola, scones and cinnamon rolls. Appetizers & Side Dishes include recipes for Croutons, Stuffing, Fried Green Tomatoes (one of my favs), Matzo and more. Breads & Rolls include Baguettes, Biscuits, Challah, Pizza Dough, and more. The Soups section was one of the most fun to browse through! So many good recipes like Pumpkin Soup, Chili and Gazpacho. Main Dishes include Potato Gnocchi, Ravioli, Tempura Shrimp or Vegetables, and Tomato Sauce. Then, saving the best for last, Desserts! Recipes range from the simple Chocolate Birthday Cake and White Frosting to Brownies to Carrot-Apple Cider Cake with Sour Cream Frosting. Like pies? There are many recipes, including a Crustless Pumpkin and a Key Lime Pie.

The new cookbook can be purchased on Amazon.com for only $12.89! That is 32% off! What a great gift for the upcoming holiday season!

**This book was sent to me as a complimentary sample to review. The opinions in this post are mine and mine alone and have not be influenced by anyone or anything.

If any week is crazy, it is this one. Interesting that I don’t feel all that stressed. Hmmmm… Maybe a touch of “the calm before the storm” going on here. We are hosting Thanksgiving dinner again this year, something I love to do. We purchased a 20 lb turkey and have begun the process of getting all of the details figured out. When to make the pies, the cornbread, the cranberry sauce, etc. I am planning on doing as much as I can in advance so that we can do more socializing and wine drinking on Thanksgiving day. 😉

Food that I will be preparing:

• Pumpkin Pies
• Cranberry Sauce
• Cornbread
• Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing
• Veggie & Cheese Trays
• Turkey
• Steamed Carrots, Green Beans & Broccoli

We will also have (brought by family):

• Catholic Potatoes
• Salad
• Cheesecake

I am so excited! Several of us will be participating in a 4 mile race the morning of Thanksgiving. No better way to create a calorie deficit than to run before the meal! There will also be mass shopping on Black Friday to work off the rest of the meal and dessert. 😉

Sunday – Butternut Squash Soup & salad

Monday – Battered Chicken Fingers, baked steak fries, asparagus & salad

Tuesday -Taco Tuesday, black beans, corn & salad (Jon’s gotta have those tacos)

Wednesday -I am thinking take-out

Thursday – The Big Meal

Friday – Leftovers

Saturday-More Leftovers

Baking

Lemon bars (new mix to sample & review)

Cornbread

Pumpkin Pies

I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope that you will be able to spend it with those you love. 🙂

I don’t know about you guys, but I like free stuff. A lot. Want a chance to get some free Triumph Dining cards? All you have to do is cast your vote and the dining cards are yours! More details from Triumph Dining:

We’re launching the first-annual Best of Gluten-Free Awards to select the best gluten-free products on the market and to thank the companies that provide them. And we’d like you and your readers to pick the winners. Not only will you get to honor your favorite brands and products, but we’ll also give the first 2,000 voters a chance to sign up for our newsletter and get a FREE five-pack of American Dining Cards (worth $11!). The dining cards are completely free to anyone with a US shipping address, just for completing the survey (we’re even covering shipping).

The Best of Gluten-Free Awards consist of 43 different categories like “Best Gluten-Free Bread Mix” and “Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie.” Winners will be announced in early 2011.

You can recognize your favorites by voting here: www.triumphdining.com/blog/best-of-gluten-free.

A very important point to remember: Only the first 2000 voters will receive the free dining cards!