What's for Dinner? - Pizza from Costco!

In follow-up to my previous Costco post about new products....let me introduce to you my new best friend:

Mmmmm....yummy!! Hands down, the best GF pizza I've ever tried. Even beats out Pizza 73, which was my previous #1 fav.

I found this in the freezer section of my neighbourhood Costco. Two generously topped cheese pizzas, each individually wrapped (so you don't have to eat both at once, although tempting...). You can eat them as is, or add your own "extras". I've done both, and each version was equally yummy!

They are a fair size too, at about 10 inches across. Makes enough for me to eat for dinner plus a few lunches. And for the price, you really can't beat it - $12.69 plus tax for the two, which is cheaper than the cheese pizza at Pizza 73 (their's is $9.99 plus tax for one).

Here's the baking instructions - bake from frozen & you'll only have to wait about 10 minutes!

For this one I've added some extras to the cheese....feta, pepperoni & cajun spice!

Bakes perfectly!!

A slice of just cheese

Now, if you're wondering what kind of crust this is, it's rice, but a soft texture and just the right thickness. A stark comparison to Udi's crusts, which are akin to cardboard (and you have to add all your own toppings). Definitely check these out...if you are disappointed, call me over and I'll help you eat it! :)

Costco!!

Yeah, I know. Posts have been far & few between then non-existant. Life has been too busy lately! Hoping to reclaim some of my activities now that summer is here and I can function more on island time rather than everyone else's time schedules :)

Anyways, we were at Costco yesterday and I was excited to discover two new Gluten Free products! I'm planning to try these out in the next few days and provide you with some new reviews...stay tuned!! :)

What's for Dinner? - Ravioli

So, going from a post on Gluten Free Edmonton's Facebook page, I was literally on the hunt for Gluten Free ravioli at Costco today. They mentioned it was being sold at Costco, but no product name or picture to go buy. I guessed it would be with the other fresh pasta I used to eat (sigh). And after standing in front of the shelves for what seemed like I'm sure an eternity to my 4 year old, I finally spotted it!

Look at that! It does exist! :) $9.99 for this double package - not bad! I was always thinking "it sure would be nice to eat fresh pasta again, but I'm stuck with the dried stuff". Now I can, and that's exactly what I had for dinner tonight!

I cooked the pasta according to the instructions on the back of the package, turned out great! Which buy the way is two joined packages. There is about 20 large ravioli pieces per package. It says on the package not to freeze the pasta (which was what I had planned on doing). Not sure the reasoning but you can bet I'm going to try it. If someone says no, I need to know why not...I'll keep you posted!

I cooked half of one of the packages for myself, which was way too much. A third of the package would have been plenty - I was so stuffed! The pieces are quite large, and I did not find them bland as I heard others mention on the Facebook post. They were amazing! Tasted like real pasta, not at all like Gluten Free! :)

I just poured my favourite tomatoe sauce on the cooked pasta and sprinkled some freshly grated parmesan cheese on top too. The ravioli filling is cheese, so you could use whatever sauce you feel like, really. I just used what I had on hand that was quick. I was in a hurry tonight, but next time I will pair this with a salad & maybe some GF garlic bread - yum! :)

What's for Dinner? - Stuffed Green Peppers

This is an old standby recipe. My mom made it when I was a kid - so I mean it's really old, lol :) I've changed a few things to make it my own, but it's pretty much the same. Anyways, it just so happens to be gluten free - hey, what are the chances?! This is the full recipe. I make a smaller version for us, since we're only 2.5 people here...

Stuffed Green Peppers
6 green peppers
2 pounds ground beef (could use ground turkey too)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic (originally calls for 1, I use 6)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1.5 cups cooked rice (1/2 cup uncooked)
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Ketchup (I only use Heinz, no-name just won't do! I remember my mom used to say "there are no other kindz" to rhyme with Heinz....not sure if that was slogan back in the black & white tv era that she's from, or if she made that one up, lol).

Anyways....

Cook 1/2 cup rice with 1 cup water until done (time varies with type of rice). Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl mix together raw meat, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, cooked rice, parsley, and enough Ketchup to make it stick together (approx 1/4 cup maybe?). Stir until combined and set aside.

Hey! Look! I actually remembered to take a picture of me making something and not just the end result! :)

Wash peppers, remove tops and seeds. My mom cooked them standing up. I cut them in half and place them in the dish laying down as in the picture. Up to you. If you are making 6 you probably want them standing up so you don't need a huge pan to cook them. Fill peppers with meat/rice mixture and top pepper with a bit of Ketchup (optional, but it makes it look pretty) :)

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 2 hours. My mom used to serve this with potatoes, but my people don't really like potatoes. And there's rice already in it. So I just pair this with a salad or DD's choice of vegetable and call it a day. Simpler is better, right?

Aside from the ketchup, there is no "processed" items or sugar in this recipe too, which I know some of you are into. Heinz does make a reduced sugar version of their Ketchup, not sure if it's available in Canada though.

Warning: cooking of the green pepper makes the whole house smell strongly of peppers or a day or two, and it's not a lovely aroma like when you bake a turkey or lasagna....lol :)

Cinnamon buns - yummy!

Okay. Here it is. I have to admit I have an addiction. A Pinterest addiction that is, lol :) I'm on there all the time, seeking out awesome things I can copy to my boards, probably never to be used. Okay, that's maybe not completely true. I've tried a few things. Just not enough hours in the day to try more!

Here's one I pinned to my GF Food board. Sounded too good to be true, so I had to test it out! Believe it or not, the recipe worked! Really just one thing I would change (the cinnamon/brown sugar filling), but I polished off the whole thing on my own (no, not in one sitting, I managed to spread it out over a week). Insert drool here....

Soft and wonderful and completely gluten free. Maybe not guilt free though....

You'll notice mine didn't seem to rise compared to the original blogger's. Either my yeast was no good, or the recipe failed to tell me to let them sit a bit before baking. I rarely use yeast recipes, so I don't really know what went wrong. Will have to try a few things out next time around. They still were really tasty, regardless of how they looked! :)

Here's the original recipe I used from the Mom, What's for Dinner? blog, with my changes in red. Do what works best for you, or call me and ask nicely....maybe I'll make you some :)

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar (just to clarify, I used white sugar)
2/3 cup of milk, room temperature
1 tablespoon yeast (I had bread machine yeast, which the jar did say I could use like regular, but maybe that was my problem?)
1 egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup potato starch
1 cup corn starch
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons xantham gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Plastic wrap sprinkled with 2 tablespoons sugar (white sugar again)

FILLING
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

I would use the filling recipe from my regular cinnamon bun recipe, this one seemed dry. Here it is...

1/3 cup room softened butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Mix 3 ingredients together in small bowl. Spread on dough.

GLAZE
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
milk

I used my cream cheese icing recipe and just spread it on a single serving before eating, rather than icing the whole works. Here's what I used:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups icing sugar

1 tbsp milk

In a large bowl combine above ingredients. Beat until creamy. Store remaining in freezer. Can be thawed and refrozen.

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In medium bowl, combine butter and sugar. Mix well. I put in my kitchen aid mixer.

Measure warm milk and add yeast to milk. Whisk well to fully dissolve.

Add milk/yeast to sugar mixture.
Add Egg, oil and vanilla to mixture and mix.

Sift together remaining ingredients. Add to mixture Mix very well, being sure to remove all lumps. Dough will be very soft... its ok... it is supposed to be.

Take a piece of plastic wrap and lay it out so it covers a 13 1/2" x 13 1/2" square. Sprinkle sugar on the wrap.

Lay ball of dough on top of that. Then pull out another sheet of wrap and gently lay over the dough.Roll out dough into about a 13 1/2" x 13 1/2" square of dough.

Remove top piece of wrap. Combine filling ingredients. Spread evenly across dough's surface.

Use the bottom piece of wrap to lift the edge of the dough and start to roll it up forming a long cylinder. Start with the sugary edge, which will be the center of your roll and roll toward the sugarless edge. Cut off or trim up the irregular ends of your "log" (I didn't do this). Then cut into 8 or 9 slices of similar size, about 1 1/2" wide. Place rolls into a greased round glass pie pan.

Bake approximately 20 minutes, until tops are lightly browned.

Combine powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk to make glaze. The amount of milk you use will depend on how thick you want the glaze to be. Stir until all lumps are dissolved. Drizzle over warm rolls.

What's for Dinner? - Olive Garden

So, DH suggested a lunch date today....Olive Garden. Not the location that had the insect issue, so I figured safe enough. And they have a Gluten Free menu I wanted to try. I checked out the menu online ahead of time, so I could focus on that and not all the lovely pasta dishes I shouldn't be eating :( So sad and so tempting knowing what I could have been eating...sigh.

Anyways, I did enjoy their salad (waitress kindly brought the croutons on a side plate for DH without being asked!). No breadsticks for me, but DD polished off a few. Pasta dish from their special menu is called Penne Rigate Pomodoro. It's corn pasta with a very light (aka skimpy) tomatoe sauce.

First off, I've never tried corn pasta. And I didn't care for it...plus it's a bright yellow colour? The picture doesn't do it justice. I don't think it was cooked long enough because it was crunchier than al dente should be. For a pasta restaurant you'd think they should know how to cook pasta....even if it is GF. I'll stick to my rice pasta, thank you!

Secondly, I wish there was more options for sauce then just tomatoe. Maybe a nice bolognese or something? Oh well.

Third, very small portion I would have to say. I had two big plates of salad, almost a whole order of mussels and nearly all the pasta. For lunch, that's huge amount of food for me. Before the pasta came out I didn't think I would be eating any of it since I was already borderline full. Oh well.

Will I eat at Olive Garden again? Probably, although not high on my list.
Will I order the Penne Rigate Pomodoro? Probably not :)

Way to go Superstore!!

When I saw Superstore was carrying GF items, I got excited...always looking for new products to try! The shelves were nearly bare, which is a good sign that others are thinking the same as me. Hopefully this stuff sticks around. Picked up their chocolate chip cookies and double chocolate muffins this morning. Had to restrain myself and waited until I got home to taste them. But I didn't wait long, groceries are still sitting out. That can wait....these two products are so amazing I had to share! They are fresh (Baked GF products usually are found in the freezer section) and I swear you would not even know these are GF! Grab some next time you are at Superstore, trust me.... :)