Chef Ooh lala Cookie Mania Mix Review

Chef Ooh lala

Gluten Free Cookie Mania Mix

I am so excited that more companies are providing gluten free options, but walking into my favorite hardware store last week and finding gluten free mixes on the shelf totally blew my mind! That's correct folks...Menard's is carrying gluten free mixes!

 I had never heard of the brand Chef Ooh lala before but certainly wanted to give it a try. I quickly snatched up a cookie and a muffin mix. Bringing home my gluten free treasures I had to share the joy with my husband who wasn't nearly as delighted as I was at the gems I removed from the bag. He of course is not gluten free and gets to indulge in sweet pleasures whenever he wants. He will never know how much I miss biting into a chocolate cream filled Krispy Kreme donut, a junior whopper or a taco salad. I feel like I have been in prison for six years. So yes, I do get overly thrilled when I find a new product and can't wait to give it a try.

Here is my review on the cookie mix. The box got my attention right away because of the mouth-watering image of chocolate cookies on the front. But to my surprise when I removed the bag to prepare these appetizing treats I was disappointed to learn that the mix contained no chocolate...Ugh! Yes the photo clearly showed delicious looking chocolate chip cookies but the mix is just a plain mix. A little deceptive in my thinking. Not to worry, my dear husband ran to the store for a few items and picked me up a bag of chocolate morsels.

 The mix required butter, water, egg and vanilla.  It was easy to stir by hand and I added plenty of the chocolate chips. While it baked at 350 degrees I could not resist tasting the dough. I know all of the warnings about raw cookie dough, but who can deny them self of this simple indulgence? It took about 12 mins until they were brown on the edges. I could hardly wait for them to cool.

I am pleased to announce that these cookies did not disappoint! They were soft and chewy, a light fluffy round delicacy. I definitely ate more than I should have and will have to redeem myself on the treadmill later....

So if you see Chef Ooh lala in your area, be sure to pick up a box and give them a try.

Aldis liveGfree Cheese Ravioli Review

So happy summer is finally here! I've been so busy working outside in the yard that I don't find time to get on my laptop much. A friend of mine has been hounding me to check out the gluten free items at our local Aldi's store. While out on errands today I decided to take her advice and shop there. She was right. They do carry plenty of gluten free products labeled liveGfree.

I loaded my shopping cart and headed home to try them out. The first item I tasted was the microwave Cheese Ravioli. Pop in the microwave for 5 mins. let cool for 1 min and your ready to
eat.

Having tried frozen ravioli in the past I was a little scared to take my first bite. Wow! I was pleasantly surprised how good these were! The ravioli noodles were soft and tasty, the marina sauce was plentiful and seasoned just right and the cheese filling was creamy and delicious!

There is no meat in this Ravioli  which is fine with me. After watching Forks over Knives I have been trying to cut back on meat. If I wasn't feeling so lazy today I would have made a salad to go along with this meal. I love that it only has 360 calories and even more important it is ALL NATURAL. No artificial anything!!!

Two thumbs up to Aldi's for offering us some great gluten free products....

Keep checking back as I review the other items I purchased!

Have a Great Day,

Valerie

Shabby chic bedroom

I haven't posted many gluten free reviews lately, that's because I've been busy remodeling our attic bedroom. When we moved into our home 4 years ago my granddaughters pleaded with me to remodel the upstairs room so they could sleep there.

Four years later I have finally decided to take the plunge and work on this project. Having to do the entire thing by myself, I wasn't up to ripping out the old dark paneling. So I purchased paintable, textured wallpaper and started covering the walls and ceiling.

I have to say it looks pretty darn good! I picked a pretty mint green paint for the walls and white for the ceiling and trim. I accented these colors with a nice shade of pink.

My Shabby chic theme would not be complete without a chandelier, but I had very limited ceiling height and knew it would hang too low. I found one small enough to hang over the bed so no one would bump their head on it....

Added a garage sale electric fireplace, painted it white with a touch of pink trim and some Christmas decor makes the room so cozy!

My grandparents antique vanity was perfect for a girls room.  A fresh coat of white paint, new drawer knobs and I re-covered the vanity stool with lovely floral fabric from Joanns. The attached mirror was too tall for the attic so we had to remove it.

The room would not be complete without a metal bed. After months of searching I found this gorgeous bed frame on Amazon. A great price and very sturdy, it is absolutely breathtaking.

I have to admit my granddaughters haven't spent a night upstairs yet.... I guess that's because they can't keep me out of the room long enough!!

Gluten Free Chicken Foil Packets Recipe

Like most men, my husband loves to grill out in the summer. I prefer cooking in the oven and on the stove so I let him do the outdoor cooking. If you haven't done foil packets your missing out on an easy meal. I've cooked chicken and beef in them and and you can add nearly any vegetable you like.

This is what I threw together for our supper today.

Boneless skinless chicken tenders

Red Bell Pepper

Green Bell Pepper

Onion

Potatoes

Melted butter

Season salt

Salt and Pepper

Heavy tin foil or double layer regular foil

Ok, first I tore off sheets of foil about 18" long. I did not have the heavy duty so I used two pieces together. I then sprayed the top with pam (you can also use olive oil)

Next chop your potatoes into thin slices, layer them on the sprayed foil. I topped this with some chopped onion and drizzled it with the melted butter. Now place your chicken tenders over the potatoes and then your slices of peppers. Sprinkle with your favorite seasonings. 

Fold your foil into packets.  (There are lots websites explaining different ways to do this.)

Now you can add them to a hot grill or bake them in the oven on a baking sheet.

Because we are expecting rain, I baked mine in the oven at 350 for 1 hour.

Caution: These will be very hot and the steam can burn you when you open your foil. 

The potatoes nearly melt in your mouth and the chicken is super moist and tender!

Fire up your grill today and try one of these foil packets, you can have white rice as a side dish instead of the potatoes or fish instead of chicken. 

If you come up with a great combination, please share it with us below.

Take time to enjoy the flowers blooming, the birds singing and the sunshine!  Kiss a baby, pet a dog, and do something kind for someone....

Val

Cauliflower Crust Grilled Cheese Recipe *Updated*

Spring is nearly here and soon we will breaking out the tee shirts, shorts and heaven forbid the swimsuits! Time to get active and start eating healthy.

I love a grilled cheese sandwich but found a healthier option while watching Dr. Oz.  If you like cooked cauliflower you will probably enjoy this recipe. Don't expect it to taste like a grilled cheese, there is no bread and the strongest flavor is the cauliflower.

 1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets (should yield 3 cups of cauliflower
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

I used a large head of cauliflower and it made 3 sandwiches. I don't have a food processor so I tried using my blender, that was a mistake. I could only grate a few pieces at a time and it was taking forever. I ended up using my old school hand grater and it was much faster and shredded the cauliflower into very fine pieces.

UPDATE *Since I posted this recipe I have found green giant riced cauliflower In the freezer section. This will eliminate alot of hard work grating a head of cauliflower. Might want to pick up 2 bags because I'm not sure how much it will make.

Cauliflower crust “bread” slices

Preheat oven to 450°F (220°C) 
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly coat with canned spray. Set aside.

In a food processor rice the cauliflower florets ( I used a hand held grater)

Place cauliflower rice into a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 7 minutes, until cooked.

Put the cauliflower rice in a tea towel and twist it to squeeze as much moisture as you can. This is very important. The cauliflower rice needs to be dry, otherwise you’ll end up with mushy dough, impossible to use as slices of bread.

Transfer the cauliflower rice to a mixing bowl, add egg, mozzarella, salt and pepper and mix well.

Spread cauliflower mixture onto the lined baking sheet and shape into squares.

Place in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes on one side, carefully flip over and cook another 5 mins.

Remove and let cool 10 minutes before removing.

Assemble cauliflower crust grilled cheese

Heat a pan over medium heat.
Butter one side of each slice of cauliflower crust bread (preferably the top part).
Place one slice of bread in the pan, buttered side down, add a slice of cheese  (I use colby jack) then top with the remaining slice of cauliflower crust bread, buttered side up.

Turn the heat down a notch and cook until golden brown, about 2 to 4 minutes.
Gently flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, about 2 to 4 minutes.

I was pretty pleased with my first attempt at making these! I didn't even break any of the slices when I flipped them. I sprinkled a little more salt and pepper before testing the appetizing square of toasted cauliflower and cheese.

It was delicious!!

Unfortunately I did not know that my husband hates cooked cauliflower! He loves it raw but can't stand the taste when it's cooked. Like a good hubby he ate one sandwich but I could tell he didn't like it. As for me and the dog (she loved it too) we will be making this again.

Udi's Chicken Florentine Review

I've never been crazy about eating frozen diet meals but before I went gluten free I managed to lose weight eating them.  Going wheat free may be better for your health but it didn't do much for my weight management.

Finally more companies are coming out with frozen gf meals and I am more than willing to try them. Our local Walmart is now offering Udi's products and I couldn't resist purchasing this one.

The individual size Chicken Florentine includes gf fusilli pasta tossed with seasoned grilled chicken, spinach and roasted tomatoes in a parmesan and white wine sauce. The chicken is raised without antibiotics, which is a plus for me.

Microwaving for a quick 3:45 mins. it comes out steaming hot, so as per the box I recommend letting it sit for a least 1 min.  I also prefer to pour mine into a nice dish instead of eating from a cardboard container. 

The pasta looks pretty much like the photo on the box. Not  overloaded with chicken but enough to satisfy me. I actually think it tastes better than some of my old diet meals. 

Over all I was very pleased with this product. And at only 330 calories it fits into my diet plan too!

Thank you Udi's for giving me new options! Can't wait to try the alfredo but it's not yet available here.

Keep thinking Spring...it's nearly here!

Val

Snow snow go away!!

Mother nature never cooperates when you want her to. I had wished for a white Christmas but she just couldn't make it happen this year. After the decorations and trees are all taken down I really don't care if we ever get any snow.

 The younger kids of course love the snow, praying that they get enough of the fluffy white stuff so that the district calls off school. Of course the kiddos don't have to shovel, scrape windshields or drive in it, so what seems fun to them is a burden to us.

 In a one week period we ended up with  15.5 inches of it....and with this season being well below average temps it's not going anywhere for a while.

 

Thanks to my husband, I now own a heated birdbath for my little feathered friends! The snow nearly covered the entire thing.

Since the majority of the snow hit on a weekend, I decided to have some fun with it myself. I asked my granddaughters if they wanted to come play, but stupid me I forgot their generation doesn't play outside! It's quite sad really, what electronics and technology has done to our children.

No worries, I proceeded to throw on my old snowsuit, boots and gloves and ventured out into the vast, desolate white landscape. It was really quite pleasant outside, I shoveled a path for our mail lady and then attempted my first snowman in 30 years!

The snow packed really well. I had wanted to make a large life size Olaf but found it to much of a challenge for this old gal. I ended up with a little 3 foot snow sculpture that took me about 1.5 hours! Surprising I never got cold or wet.

A little food color, sticks and a carrot finished my project. My neighbors must have thought I was nuts, but I had an awesome time!

So if life hands you lemons, make lemonade. If it covers you with snow, make a snowman! Make the best of your day.

You don't need kids to have fun!
Val