Muddy Buddies

I boycotted anything to do with shopping on Thanksgiving or Black Friday. Why you may ask? I guess you couldn't say I was boycotting as it was just laziness. That and I didn't want to get trampled to death. I don't find dealing with crowds the least bit appealing. I find staying in my pajamas and having Amazon deliver my Christmas gifts to be the best kind of holiday shopping. (Plus no sales tax! Bonus!)

So far this long weekend has not been too eventful with the exception of making Muddy Buddies. (Really exciting huh?) I enjoyed a little break from school and spent it eating this divine treat and reading non-textbook books.

I think I really shed a small tear when I found out Muddy Buddies are GF. The combination of crunchy with peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar is straight heaven for me.

Here is the recipe courtesy of Chex and General Mills:


9 cups Rice Chex
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided

Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Once melted add vanilla. Pour over Rice Chex and stir evenly. In a bag, place 3/4 cup of powdered sugar in a zip-top bag. Pour in chocolate covered Chex. Place remaining 3/4 cup of powdered sugar over top and close bag. Shake vigorously to ensure all of the Chex are coated with powdered sugar. Serve!

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Dry-brined Turkey Results

It's about 8:00 pm on Thanksgiving day and the four of us (me, husband, and dogs) are full beyond belief. The sweat pants were busted out a few hours ago. I don't want to think about food for at least two days.

Thinking and writing about food are about the same, but I still feel compelled to give my two cents on the dry-brine.

Pros:

1. It was moist.
2. Relatively easy to do.
3. Everyone loved it.
4. If you like crispy skin, the skin was very crisp.
5. Less messy than a wet brine

Cons:

1. It still takes about as much time to dry-brine as it does to wet brine.
2. While the meat is juicy, not much flavor is imparted on it. I'm thinking about adding herbs along with the salt to give it more oomph.
3. We have a side-by-side refrigerator....needless to say it took up precious real estate in our fridge for a few days.


So as you can see, I found more pros than cons with this method. I think we will continue to do it if we are fortunate enough to cook for everyone again.

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A substitute for pumpkin pie?

I found this recipe for New York Cheesecake. It is a crust-free version, which immediately attracted me for the GF purposes. It was my husband's birthday yesterday and he loves cheesecake. I decided to make this for him for his birthday. I also decided to modify it a little bit to see if I could make a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving to maybe replace pumpkin pie. (I hate pumpkin pie. I'd rather eat chalk.)

Results? Fantastic.

Here's what I did:

Kept the recipe the same but reduced the sour cream to one cup and replaced the other cup with pumpkin. I then added a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. Follow instructions as directed. 

It wasn't overly pumpkin-y and the lemon helped cut some of the heaviness. I highly recommend it! We will definitely be having this instead of pie. Mmmmmm!

I suck and forgot to take a picture before it was devoured and desroyed. So here is a photo of the NY Cheesecake. Photo Credit: What2Cook

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Dry-Brined Turkey

I am a huge fan of Alton Brown and his show Good Eats on the Food Network. I am pretty sure I have seen every episode. I've learned so much from him. He talks a lot about the chemistry of cooking and I think he has helped make me a better chef because of his teaching style. I highly recommend watching it if you have an interest in cooking.

Each year, Food Network replays his episode on turkey. He talks about how a wet brine allows for a moist, delicious turkey. My husband's work gives each employee a fresh turkey from a local farm every year. I am so grateful for their generosity, but the downside is that they give it out the day before Thanksgiving. A wet brine takes a few days to be done properly. That said, I have never done a wet brine for that reason. I just don't have enough time.

Thankfully, Yahoo opened my eyes to a dry-brine method that can be done 1-2 days before. Definitely read the article and give it a try! (If you are feeling adventurous or are tired of dry, flavorless turkey that needs a cup of gravy to make it pallatable.)

I am excited to give it a try! I will update you with a review after Thanksgiving.

Doesn't that look delicious? Photo credit: Yahoo

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All Hail The Pioneer Woman!

On my quest to find delicious GF sides for Thanksgiving, I combed The Pioneer Woman's blog and found this recipe for Whiskey-Glazed Carrots.

Because we eat baby carrots religiously and always have whiskey on hand, I decided to give them a dry run before the big turkey day.

Deeeelicious. I used my cast iron skillet to give them that carmelized brown on the carrots. The whiskey gives it a good flavor and helps cut some of the sweetness. I think this might be a new staple at Thanksgiving!

Photo Credit: TPW

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Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Growing up, I used to babysit for a family across the street. I grew close with this family and I would often times eat dinner with them, even years after I was done babysitting their kids. One day, they made a pot roast and mashed potatoes. I kid you not, those were the best mashed potatoes I have ever had. I asked the mom if she would divulge her recipe.

"Cream cheese. Butter. Half and Half. Potatoes. Salt and Pepper. That's it."

Cream cheese?? I've died and gone to heaven.

While browsing for some GF Thanksgiving recipes, I came across The Pioneer Woman's mashed potato recipe. They are eerily almost identical. (I'm sure the recipe wasn't top secret but I almost wonder if they were in cahoots together coming up with it.)

Check out TPW's recipe and instructions. She gives great tips for making creamy (not gummy) mashed potatoes.

Photo Credit: TPW

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Switching Gears

My mother decided to gut her kitchen and completely remodel it 3 weeks before Thanksgiving. What does this mean for me? I get to cook and host Thanksgiving this year. To say I'm panicking might be an understatement. You see, I get really bad anxiety whenever I host anything. I won't dive into the reasons why I get anxious because I think a therapist needs to deal with that bag.

This is my first Thanksgiving that will be gluten-free. Thankfully, my parents and husband are really supportive and are okay not eating some of the gluten-y favorites. I'm going to miss the rolls, gravy, green bean casserole and homemade stuffing.

I'm going to be switching gears and only posting my Thanksgiving recipe trials now until the big day. I thank the universe that Pinterest was created because I have found several lovely resources for making a delicious GF Thanksgiving dinner. Cheers!

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Delicious, Easy Tomato Bisque

There is something about the weekends during fall where I crave soup constantly. One of my favorite meals is grilled cheese and tomato soup. Now that I am aware I have Celiac, my bread consumption has significantly decreased (and so has my waistline!) My condensed soup consumption is almost non-existent currently because almost all of them have wheat in them as a thickener.

I was talking to my sister about my dilemma and she referred me to a recipe she created a few years ago. Her recipe calls for flour but she told me I could omit it no problem. Well I made it and I can't believe I ate the stuff in a can for so many years. It was quick to prepare and was so delicious. I highly recommend! You can find the recipe here.

Photo credit: My sister

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Tortilla Trouble

I love Mexican food. I think it is hard to find good Mexican food in Utah, so I like to cook to my tastes. Before the dreaded Celiac diagnosis, I loved to make a chicken and cheese quesadilla for a quick lunch. Unfortunately, flour tortillas make the best quesadillas. At the GF Expo this year Udi's had a sample of their GF rice flour tortilla. It was good, but the amount of tortillas you get for the price is outrageous.

While grocery shopping last week, I found these tortillas in the refrigerated section. They are uncooked GF corn tortillas. They come in a package of 30 for around $3.00. I decided to pick up a pack and use them to make enchiladas. I'm really glad I didn't spend more than I did for them because I was severely disappointed.

Why? When you open the package an immediate odor of cheap rubber wafts up to your nose. To me, that is a big red flag. Tortillas shouldn't smell like a pair of Old Navy flip-flops. Another reason is you need to have a surgeon's hand to separate the tortillas without breaking them in 7 parts. I also thought they didn't cook evenly and still broke apart after cooking.

Sorry TortillaLand, your corn tortillas are a total fail.

I'm really frustrated with the tortilla situation. Do you have a favorite brand of tortilla that is affordable? Do you make your own? Do you have any tips to make your GF Mexican food cooking less of a headache? Suggestions are welcome, my insatiable appetite will thank you!

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