Enjoy Life Pizza Crust Mix Review

My family really enjoyed this pizza crust. I felt like I could have cooked it a few minutes longer before adding the toppings, but it was still fine. My husband actually said that this was the best gluten free pizza he's tasted! I think I still like my pizza crust recipe a little better, but this one was a close second, and wayyyy easier to make!

The mix is enough to make 2 pizzas but I cut it in half to make one. I think it was about 1 2/3 cup of the mix. I spread my mix pretty thin so the pizza crust was dense and a little chewy in the middle with crispy edges. We added peppers, onions, italian sausage and mozzarella and served with a caesar salad. Yum!

The cost for the mix is $8.49. A little bit expensive, but like their other mixes, this mix contains lots of whole grain and high fiber ingredients, so you get what you pay for. This was probably our favourite mix out of the bunch!

Taste                         5 stars

Texture                      4 stars

Quality Ingredients     4.5 stars

Cost                         3 stars

Overall Rating            4 stars

dough for 1 pizza 

pressed thinly

after baking 9 mins 

toppings on and back in the oven for 10 mins or so

Curried Squash Soup

Gluten Free Curried Squash Soup

We love squash in our house. I like it roasted with butter, brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice but my husband prefers it slathered in butter alone. Our little guy, who is just starting solids, is a big fan of squash too. My favourite squash to eat on its own is acorn, but butternut is a close second. For soup, however, butternut squash is the way to go!

This soup is creamy, nutty and sweet with a hint of curry spice and coconut milk. Roasting the veggies brings out a great depth of flavour, but if you don't have the time you could chop them up raw and cook them in the soup instead.

serves 3-4 ppl
Ingredients

1 medium Butternut Squash (2-3lbs)
1 Onion
1/2 Head of Garlic
3 cups Vegetable or Chicken Broth (make sure it's GF!)
1 tsp Brown Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Indian Curry Powder (or sub Thai Curry Paste for a different flavour)
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice (or substitute 1 chopped granny smith apple - add in with squash)
1/2 cup Coconut Milk
Plain Yogurt (or sour cream) and Parsley as a garnish

Directions

Cut squash in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds and fibres with a spoon.
Peel the onion and cut into quarters
Wrap the half head garlic in tin foil
Roast squash cut side down on a foil lined roasting pan along with onion and garlic for 45-50 mins at 350.
When cooked, scrape out squash and squeeze out garlic into a medium pot with onion and 2 cups of broth.
Using a hand/stick blender, puree until smooth. (or you can blend in a food processor)
Add remaining broth, coconut milk and seasonings (not lemon juice) and simmer for 10-20 mins, stirring occasionally.
Stir in lemon juice at the end and season to taste.
Serve hot with parsley and yogurt/sour cream.

Cut and remove seeds from squash (you only need one)

 

Roast squash, onion and garlic (garlic is missing from picture)

 

Combine roasted veggies in a pot

 

Add 2 cups of stock and blend until smooth

 

Add remaining broth, coconut milk and seasonings and simmer for 10-20 mins 

 

Garnish with yogurt/sour cream and parsley if desired

Thin Pizza Crust

Gluten Free Thin Pizza Crust

I have been working on filling my freezer with easy meals for after this baby is born. I was craving pizza the other day and thought some gluten free personal pizzas would a good addition to my freezer stash (store bought frozen pizzas for the hubby). I made one large pizza for supper and 2 personal pizzas for the freezer from this recipe. It would be really easy to just freeze the crusts with no toppings (and normally I would), but for the sake of future convenience, I topped them before freezing.


Hawaiian Pizza

I got the recipe from the blog Minimalist Baker and made a few minor changes. The only special ingredients you need are brown and white rice flour, tapioca starch, and xanthan or guar gum. You could just use all brown or all white rice flour and it would still turn out. It is also egg free and milk free (if you use a cheese substitute).

Personal Pizzas

My husband was impressed with this crust and so was I. It's nice and thin with a chewy base and crispy edges. So far it's the best crust I've tried. Hope you enjoy it too!

makes 2 medium-large pizzas
Ingredients

1 cup Brown Rice Flour
1 cup White Rice Flour
1 cup Tapioca Starch
1 tsp Guar Gum (or 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum)
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
3 Tbsp Sugar, divided
1 Tbsp Yeast
1 1/4 cups Warm Water, divided
1 Tbsp Canola Oil (or other oil of your choice)

Directions

Proof 1 T yeast with 3/4 cup warm water and 1 Tbsp sugar. Let sit 5-10 minutes or until foamy.
In a large bowl, combine rice flours, tapioca starch, guar gum, salt, baking powder and remaining 2 T of sugar.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and add oil, remaining 1/2 cup water, and yeast mixture.
Mix until well combined.
Oil your baking sheets (or line with parchment) and use half of the dough for each pizza, or a 1/4 to 1/5 of the dough for personal sized pizzas.
With oiled hands, press the dough into desired shape (crust should be very thin).
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes (20-25 minutes for personal size). Dough will become dry and cracked looking but that's normal.
*
Now add your favourite sauce and toppings.
Bake again for around 20 minutes or until the edges are golden and everything seems cooked through.

* At this point you can let them cool and freeze if you want. If you add toppings before freezing you can bake them from frozen (about 20 minutes). If not, let them thaw before topping and baking for 15-20 minutes.
I put my toppings on my crusts while they were still warm so the cheese was starting to melt just a little bit. After they cooled, I wrapped them in plastic wrap and then foil and froze them individually.

Press dough into pizza pan

 

Or press them into personal sized pizzas

 (I forgot to take a picture of the baked crust before topping so you'll have to trust me that it's supposed to look dry and cracked)

Bake, top, and bake again!

Hot and Sour Soup

Gluten Free Hot and Sour Soup

I am almost 16 weeks pregnant and am just starting to enjoy food again (thank goodness)! I haven't been cooking or blogging much lately because I've been feeling so crappy. Today I am at home sick and am trying to stick to natural remedies as much as possible. I just made a pot of this soothing soup for lunch!

This soup is great for when you have a cold. The spice and steam will help to clear out your nose and the broth will help you get those much needed fluids. The fresh ginger and garlic are great for your immune system too. It's super quick to make, so you don't have to spend too much time standing over the stove when you feel crappy.

You can adjust the spice level to suit your family's preferences. I would say my version of the soup has a medium level of spice. The noodles give the soup a bit more substance, but you can leave them out if you want a very light, brothy soup (It would make a great appetizer).  The recipe only makes 3 servings but can be easily doubled.

serves 3
Ingredients

1 1/3 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, minced or finely grated
3 Cloves Fresh Garlic, minced or finely grated
1/2 tsp Olive Oil
1 Medium Carrot, grated
1 Egg, well beaten
1 1/2 Tbsp GF Beef Soup Base/Boullion (use more if needed)
5 Cups Water (or omit beef soup base and use 5 cups prepared beef broth)
2 tsp Sriracha Hot Sauce (or your favourite hot sauce)
1 Square Rice Noodles (or enough to make around 1 1/4 cups cooked)
1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Directions

In medium sauce pan, saute garlic and ginger in olive oil for 1 minute.
Add water, beef soup base, grated carrot and hot sauce.
Bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
Add uncooked rice noodles and boil for another minute or 2. (you could also cook noodles separately and add them at the end)
Beat 1 egg and slowly pour into soup while stirring slowly (it should cook instantly)
Add lemon juice.
Taste and make adjustments (more broth, lemon juice, hot sauce, etc)
Serve and breath in the theraputic steam!

ginger, garlic and beef broth

Add carrots, boil 5 minutes and add rice noodles

Drop in egg while stirring slowly and finish with lemon juice

BlueWater Grill Fish Review (and GIVEAWAY)

Giveaway Now Closed

I was contacted by BlueWater Seafoods to review their new gluten free frozen grill fish fillets. I was excited to try this product because we are big fans of fish and easy dinners. In the mail I received 1 FPC (free product coupon) for a BlueWater frozen seafood item and a BlueWater bag. I also received 3 envelopes, each stuffed with a coupon and bag to mail out to 3 lucky readers.

 

 I decided to purchase the Haddock Classic Grill variety. I baked the fish in the oven according to the directions on the back of the box (I believe it took somewhere around 15 minutes at 400 F). It is clear that this product is made with high quality ingredients. The texture of the fish was moist, tender and flaky.  My only complaint is the size of the fillet. I felt that I could have eaten at least 1 1/2 times the amount. The flavour was very good but not too spicy or overpowering for those that prefer mild seasonings. These fillets would be a good option for people who do not especially enjoy fish, but are trying to incorporate more fish in to their diet, because there is no strong fishy after taste.

frozen haddock

after baking

As most of you probably know, fish is a very healthy meal option. BlueWater products make it easier to incorporate fish into your diet because the fillets are so easy to prepare. Many packaged, pre-seasoned products contain gluten, but BlueWater has provided a gluten free version that is equal to or greater in quality than other similar products. This convenience does come at a price, however. When I used my coupon to buy the Haddock Classic Grill fillet, it was on sale for $3.99 (for 2 fillets - 179g). I believe the regular price is somewhere around $5.00 and above. This makes for a very expensive meal, especially if you are feeding more than 2 people. I usually buy frozen, unseasoned white fish for  $1.00-$1.50 per 100g. The BlueWater Haddock product came to over $2.00 per 100g on sale. It's not something that I would be able to afford on a regular basis, but if you can afford it and you think it will help you get more fish in to your diet then I would definitely recommend it. Or you could just win a free box of fish by entering my giveaway (see below)!

BlueWater Haddock with a veggie and quinoa side dish

I served up our fillets with stir fried veggies mixed with quinoa and a little Italian dressing. I found this meal to be extremely filling and satisfying. BlueWater has some gluten free recipe ideas on their website if you're looking for something a little more exciting to do with your fish.


Health       5 stars
Cost          1.5 stars
Taste         4.5 stars
Texture     4.5 stars
Overall Rating 3.9 stars




What you can win:

1 FPC (free product coupon) for any BlueWater frozen seafood item
1 BlueWater bag

FPC

bag in attached case

open bag

GIVEAWAY INFO - now closed

You can enter up to 3 times but will only be able to win once (it will just increase your chances of winning)

Note:You need to post a new comment for every entry because I will be using a random number generator to choose the winning posts. If the same person is drawn twice, I will generate a new number in its place.

This giveaway is only open to Canadian readers. Sorry to everyone else :(

Entry 1: Post a comment on this blog saying why you would love to try the BlueWater grill fish fillets. (Send me an email at andraglutenfree at gmail dot com with your email address so I can notify you if you win - or simply include your email address in the comment)

Entry 2: Go to the gluten free page on BlueWater's website and tweet the page on your twitter account (click here to go to website). Post the link to your tweet in a new comment.

Entry 3: Go to the gluten free page on BlueWater's website and click the like button to like them on Facebook (click here to go to website). Post a new comment telling me you did this.


I will accept entries until March 30th, 2013. The winner will be contacted by email and announced on this page. The winner will have 48 hours to respond. If I have not heard from them by then, I will choose a new winner and they will have 48 hours to respond etc, etc.



Thanks BlueWater Seafoods for providing these free samples for me to review. All opinions are my own.

Santa Fe Chicken Casserole



Gluten Free Santa Fe Chicke Casserole

I love the Tex Mex flavours in this recipe. It's a great use for left over rotisserie chicken, but works well with raw chicken too. You can customise the add ins to suit your family's tastes (red/green peppers, corn, jalapenos, cilantro, green onion, etc).

I also love that it's a one dish meal that can be prepared ahead of time and thrown in the oven just in time for dinner (you could probably even freeze it - before or after baking - for a rainy day) Just pair it with a salad or other easy veggie side dish!

The leftovers make a great take along lunch.

serves 4-6
Ingredients

1 cup shredded cooked chicken (or 1-2 raw chicken breasts thinly sliced)
1 cup frozen or canned corn
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (more or less as desired)
1 can black beans rinsed
1 can GF mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup (I use "no name" low fat)
1 can milk (use empty mushroom soup can to measure)
1/2 cup salsa
3/4 cup dry white rice
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup grated cheese (preferably low fat)
2 Tbsp sour cream
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
1 Tbsp Chili Powder (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.
In 9x13 baking dish, stir together shredded chicken (not raw), corn, peppers, beans, soup, milk, salsa, rice, spices, sour cream and cilantro.
If using raw chicken breast, lay slices on top of the mixture so that they cover most of the surface.
Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
Bake for 45 mins to 1 hr (until most of the liquid is absorbed and cheese is bubbly - if cheese gets too dark, cover with aluminium foil)

combine ingredients in 9x13 pan and sprinkle with cheese

bake at 350 for 45 mins - 1 hr

 

 

Breakfast Casserole

gluten free breakfast casserole

This is a super easy recipe for a brunch or even supper. It's filling and tasty and goes a long way when paired with some gluten free pumpkin cream cheese muffins or ginger peach coffee cake and fruit! The leftovers are great too.

You can get a little creative with this recipe if you like. Swap the bacon for ham or chopped up breakfast sausage or add some peppers and mushrooms to the onions. Just make sure the frozen hash browns (and sausage if you're using it) are gluten free, and you should be good to go!

(makes one square baking pan. double the recipe for a larger dish)
Ingredients

4-6 strips of Chopped Bacon (or sausage, ham, etc)
1/4 cup Diced Onion
6 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
2 1/2 cups Frozen Hash Browns
1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp Dill Weed (optional)


Directions

Cook bacon or other meat in a frying pan.
Saute onions in drippings or microwave until translucent.
In a bowl, beat eggs with milk and spices.
Spread the frozen hash browns around on the bottom of the dish.
Sprinkle bacon and onions evenly over hash browns.
Pour egg mixture over hash browns (it should just barely cover them)
Sprinkle cheese on top.
Bake at 350 for about 1 hour (until knife inserted in the centre comes out clean)

place hash browns in baking dish

sprinkle sauteed onions and bacon evenly over hash browns

beat eggs with milk and spices

pour egg mixture over hash browns and sprinkle with cheese

bake at 350 for 1 hr

serve with fruit and muffins or coffee cake

Thai Soup

Gluten Free Thai Soup with Rice Noodles

Both my husband and I love Thai food. I love the ginger, coconut milk and lemony flavours. One of our favourite restaurants in Saskatoon is Thai (Keo's). We like it so much that I sometimes try to recreate their menu items. To this point my (re)creations have been unsatisfactory and rather unidentifiable. My tamarind is too sour (maybe I used too much?), I don't have any lemon grass, I have no idea what kind of curry they use and where to get it, and I am receiving most of my Thai cooking classes from Google. So I gave up trying to recreate, and instead started to create. Using my new found knowledge of basic Thai flavours (yes, from Google), I got cooking. (I really doubt that I had this all planned out like I'm making it sound, and I'm pretty sure this recipe was more of a delicious accident than anything, but I'll still take the credit!)
This delightful Thai soup recipe is what I came up with. My husband literally jumps for joy when I announce I am making it for supper.It's a little labour intensive with all the julienning of the veggies, but it's totally worth it. The secret (Thai) ingredients are fresh ginger, Asian fish sauce (which sounds and kind of smells disgusting, but trust me, it adds the perfect flavour), peanut butter, and lime or lemon juice (I think Thai food usually uses lemon grass, but I don't really know where to get it). You can substitute different vegetables based on what you like and what you have on hand.

This is what I had on hand

I hope you love this soup as much as we do!

(serves 3-4 people)
Ingredients

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Cloves Fresh Garlic, minced
1 Small Onion, minced
1 Tbsp Fresh Ginger, grated or minced
1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
1 cup Coconut Milk
1 Tbsp Asian Fish Sauce (you could probably sub soy sauce but it wouldn't be the same)
2 Tbsp lime juice (or lemon juice)
3/4 cup Water
2 Carrots, julienned
1 cup Bean Sprouts (or Cabbage, julienned)
1/2 Red Pepper, julienned
2 tsp Chili Flakes
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp Lime Zest (optional)
Salt to taste
1-2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs, chopped into bite sized pieces (Tofu works good here too)
3-4 cups Cooked Thin Rice Noodles

Garnishes:
  Cilantro
  Chopped Peanuts

get your ingredients ready to go before you start cooking

Directions

Cook rice noodles according to package directions and divide between 3 or 4 bowls.

Heat oil on medium heat in a large pot.
Saute minced onions until translucent.
Add garlic, ginger and pepper. Saute for another minute or two.
Add chicken stock, coconut milk, fish sauce and water. Bring to a boil.
Bring soup down to a simmer and add carrots, chili flakes, chicken. Cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
Add cabbage or bean sprouts, red pepper and peanut butter. Let cook for another 3 minutes.
Add lime juice and zest (if using). Salt to taste.

Serve soup over cooked rice noodles.
Garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro.

onions, garlic, ginger and pepper

coconut milk and chicken stock added

Add chicken and firmer veggies

cover and simmer for 5-7 mins

serve over rice noodles and garnish with peanuts and cilantro... i didn't have any :(