Pasta with creamy pesto-ish sauce

IT'S EFFING HOT.

I overheard somebody call these the dog days of summer. Everyone's seeking solace in air-conditioned havens, myself included. You think I'm going to heat up my kitchen? Don't think so. It's been lunchmeat and cereal city over here. For a while.

But my belly is hungry, and getting tired of mediocre meals. So in one simultaneous move, I cranked the AC on full blast and turned on the stove.

The only thing to survive in my herb garden this year is a basil plant. Apparently this particular plant loves the drought and 100+ temperatures. In fact, it's going pretty strong. If it looks droopy I just water it and it perks right up.

This was inspired by leftover spinach that needs to be eaten soon. No, I can't eat another freaking salad. Was going to make a pesto but I also had cream cheese to use up. So I changed the plan a little, with great success.

I give you, this.

Okay, I'm not a food photographer.
Please, it tastes much better than it looks.

Have you seen that cooking creme? It's like that, but better.


Heat up your skillet to medium-high heat, salt & pepper your chicken, throw it in the pan and cook it until it's done.

Meanwhile, bust out your little tiny food processor that's cracked and old but still works.

Add to it:

1/2 block of softened cream cheese (or neufchatel cheese)
a splash of milk
a dash of garlic powder
1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1 handful each of fresh basil and spinach leaves
as much pepper as you like

Process that until it's relatively smooth, and pour it into the pan. Remove it from heat, and toss with your favorite gf pasta.

Then have ice cream for dessert, kuz it's just too darn hot not to.

Black Bean... Cake!

We've all heard of the chocolate cake or brownies made using black beans instead of flour. After trying one of these cupcakes that a friend made, I was amazed and finally decided to try it.

It's so freaking easy, and I have to admit I was skeptical as I was mixing the batter together. It's very wet. And even though I pureed the heck out of the beans, there were little bean skin pieces floating around in it.

However, when they came out of the oven and eventually made their way into my mouth, I was a believer all over again.

I used the recipe provided at Chocolate and Carrots (darling blog). Instead of all the embellishments, I made the basic cake recipe and added store-bought german chocolate icing for my sister's favorite birthday cake.

Unfortunately, the only picture I took was one with my crappy camera phone, sent to her with a note: Come over after work. (She did.)

They are moist, a bit dense, and perfectly chocolatey.

I fed them to my family, watched them eating, and asked, "You wanna know what's in there??"
They stopped eating and their faces became skeptical. When I told them, they were all, "No way!" and polished them off. You really can't tell there are beans in the batter.

One thing to note: they don't rise very high and get that traditional domed cupcake shape; I suppose it's just the nature of the recipe, but it's ok because you get to put more icing on that way. :o)

So, whether you make the surprise cupcakes with peanut butter frosting (which are, by the way, AH-MAY-ZING) or just use the plain chocolate cake recipe, it's all good.

Just make them.

GF Expo in Dallas

Hey! Spotted at simply sugar and gluten free, a GF expo in Dallas!

I've seen other bloggers posting about expos, and have been waiting for one to come to Houston, but Dallas is close enough! I could totally go up there for a weekend. How fun would that be?? Road tripppp.

I'm pretty darn excited about this.

GF Rice Krispies!

I finally found the new Gluten Free Rice Krispies on shelves!

At first I was excited to see them, but then the price tag kinda put a damper on it. $4.19 for a  box of the gluten free stuff, and $2.88 for a box of the regular stuff. I was looking forward to mainstream cereals being a little cheaper than the specialty stuff. Especially since the website advertises that they're the same price! Still, I bought them. At least it was a big box, unlike most GF cereals that are like 5 bucks for a tiny box.

I had a big bowl for breakfast today, complete with bananas, just the way I like it.

I don't remember how regular Rice Krispies taste, but these are pretty good. They even snap, krackle, and pop. So you don't miss out on the Rice Krispie experience.

All in all, another win for GF awareness, and my tummy.

Local GF Resources

My sister had me jot down some GF notes for someone she recently met who was new(ish) to the Celiac world. I figured I'd share it here too:

Places with gluten free menus in the Sugar Land/ Houston area:

Pei Wei- ask for it at the restaurant

PF Changs- at the restaurant

Souper Salad- online

BJs Brewhouse- at the restaurant

Chick fil A- online- last time I checked they used a dedicated fryer for fries

Wendy’s- online

Outback Steakhouse- at the restaurant- they even have a chocolate cake

Chili’s- online

Tx Land & Cattle- online

Pepperoni’s makes GF pizza

Russo’s NY Pizzeria at the Galleria location makes GF pizza

Cheesecake factory- I haven’t seen an official gf menu, but they were pretty helpful and knowledgeable when I ate there

Jason’s Deli- have an allergen menu and the last time I was there they offered GF bread- AND deliver!

Sprinkles in the Galleria sells a GF red velvet cupcake

Ruggles- very impressed.

Paciugo- used to get gelato from there all the time- they have GF status on the back of the cards that display the flavor- just ask

Bucca di Beppo- the last time I was there, there was no GF menu, but apparently now there is.

And here's a larger list.

Grocery stores with large GF selections:
 

Whole Foods

Kroger on Sweetwater

HEB on Hwy 6 @ Austin Pkwy

Products:

Udi’s is the best bread I’ve come across. Not perfect, but not as terrible as some that I’ve tried. Schar also makes decent rolls.

The Glutino pretzels and crackers are good

The Betty Crocker mixes are fantastic

There’s a gluten free bakery off I-10- http://glutenfreehouston.com/

Also one up north- Mary’s- http://marysglutenfree.com/

Not an all-inclusive list, but it's a nice start.

I didn't realize how many places have gotten gluten-savvy in recent years until I started to list them. Definitely an upside to the recent celebrity gluten free trend!

Did I miss anything?

Baker's Challenge Giveaway Winner

The winner of the GF prize pack giveaway (by Betty Crocker and myblogspark) is

Congrats!

Enjoy the goodies, and for all those interested, the GF Baker's Challenge is open for entries for another week or so.



(I like the guy at the end, haha)

Gluten Free Baker's Challenge & Giveaway

So. Myblogspark alerted me that Betty Crocker is having a gluten free baker's challenge. I've heard of the regular baker's challenges, but the gluten free one is new to me!

You just submit your awesome GF recipe made using one of the Betty Crocker mixes by June 30th and get a chance to win a grand prize of $5,000, or receive a gluten free baking gift basket as one of 10 finalists.

Baking + a chance at cash or free stuff? Sounds good to me!

Also, even if you don't participate in the contest, you can get discounts on the gluten free Betty Crocker mixes when you visit the gluten free online store  at Glutenfreely.com.

Aaannnddd, to sweeten things up a bit and maybe help us get jump-started on our entries, Betty Crocker (via Myblogspark) is offering a GF prize pack! Yay!

Oh, the possibilities.

To enter the giveaway, spread the word about the Gluten Freely's 20% off sale going on through June, and also leave a comment- I'd love to know which GF mix is your favorite. You have through June 17th to enter!

Personally, I love the yellow cake mix. I even used it for my sister's wedding cake and everyone loved it, no one knew it was gluten free. Heck yes. I can't wait to play with it and create something worthy of the grand prize. And also, get to eat it, haha.