Jimmy John's Unwich

I have become a fan of Jimmy John's Subs.  Not because of the bread they serve their sandwiches on, which I am sure is very tasty, but because of the "unwich" that they make.  I personally love the "unwich".  One thing that I have missed is eating a good sandwich, but now I can have a great unwich  and enjoy the a sandwich.  Craving a sandwich...try out Jimmy John's Unwich! (My favorite is #12, the Beach.)

Peanut Butter - Chocolate Chip Bars with Chocolate Frosting

Here is the recipe for those scrumptious bars.....

1 box Betty Crocker® Gluten Free chocolate chip cookie mix

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup gluten-free peanut butter

1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla

1 egg

1 cup Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting

1.   Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of (8- or 9-inch) square pan.

2.   In medium bowl, stir together cookie mix, butter, peanut butter, vanilla and egg with spoon until soft dough forms (dough will be crumbly). Pat dough into pan. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until edges are dry and golden brown. Run knife around inside edge of pan. Cool on wire rack about 1 hour.

3.   Spread frosting over bars. Cut into squares, 4 rows by 4 rows.

Nutrition Information:

1 Serving (1 Serving)

• Calories 280
• (Calories from Fat 110);

• Total Fat 12g
• (Saturated Fat 5g,
• Trans Fat 1g);
• Cholesterol 25mg;
• Sodium 260mg;
• Total Carbohydrate 40g
• (Dietary Fiber 0g,
• Sugars 25g);
• Protein 3g;

Percent Daily Value*:

• Vitamin A 2%;
• Vitamin C 0%;
• Calcium 4%;
• Iron 0%;

Exchanges:

• 1 Starch;
• 0 Fruit;
• 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrate;
• 0 Skim Milk;
• 0 Low-Fat Milk;
• 0 Milk;
• 0 Vegetable;
• 0 Very Lean Meat;
• 0 Lean Meat;
• 0 High-Fat Meat;
• 2 1/2 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choices:

• 2 1/2;

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Christmas Day Feast

Well Merry Christmas to everyone...whoever you are?  I am not noticing a lot of followers, but that's okay because one day I know that this blog will help someone who is gluten free and just starting on their journey.  Christmas is about new beginnings.  The birth of our Saviour.  Today is the day that I look at as a marking point as a reminder about what God did for me by sending a Saviour that I might have life eternally.
Today was a day of family and eating and we did that very well!  We had brisket along with all of the trimmings for a fine dinner.  Mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade cole slaw, and corn on the cob finished it off.  Everything for the main course was gluten free.
The desserts that I made turned out okay.   Some better than the others.  The Betty Crocker Peanut Butter - Chocolate Chip Bars with Chocolate Frosting were probably the best and will definitely be a repeat, even my gluten eating family liked them. The pie that I made was okay, whip cream can cover up a multitude of sins.  I think that I needed to add additional chocolate other than just the gluten free Jello pudding mix.  My son liked it, but my son-in-law said that it was missing something.  So that is a dessert that I will have to modify before making again.
Anyway, enough about food, I don't think I want to eat again until the new year!

Christmas Baking ....

I have "experimented" today in baking a few things that are gluten free.  I made a pie and not really knowing what to make for the shell I decided to crush up some snowball walnut type cookies that I bought at the gluten free bakery.  I added melted butter and some additional pecans and formed the "crust" into the bottom of a glass pie dish.  I baked the shell at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes until the shell began to brown around the edges.  In the baking process the shell puffed up and really didn't look like it was going to leave any place for the filling, but as it cooled the shell flattened out and I was able to make a filling of chocolate pudding mixed with cream cheese and a little cool whip to resemble a chocolate cream pie.   I can't wait to taste it tomorrow...I'll let you know how it taste! 

The other thing that I baked was from the new Gluten Free Recipe Collection magazine that I picked up at the grocery store yesterday.  I made Chocolate Chip Bars with Chocolate Chip frosting using Betty's Crocker's gluten free mixes.  Can't wait to taste it tomorrow.  I'd post a picture, but I am way too busy to stop and take a picture! 

Gluten Free and it's Christmas

Today I picked up a magazine that I can’t wait to use.  It is called the Gluten free Recipe Collection by Betty Crocker.  It looks like it has a lot of yummy things in it!  I’ll keep up to date on any of my progress. Gotta get busy, Christmas is coming.

My new favorite website!

I just came upon a great blog site that I actually found it on Facebook. It is called JulesGlutenFree.com.  The author is Jule Shepard  who herself is a celiac patient.  She is also an expert and does not compromise on taste to get the results she wants when baking gluten-free.  She is manufacturing a patent-pending formulation of flour that is certified allergy-free, gluten-free and made in a kosher facility.  I can’t wait to order some of her flour and bake from the e-cookbooks that I have downloaded from her site.  Check it out if you get a chance at http://www.julesglutenfree.com/ .

My Journey Continues

I am updating my blog to be of relevance to my life.  I am Gluten-Free (GF).  I was diagnosed in June of 2009 by blood test that were ordered to determine if I had Lupis or another type of auto-immune disease for a skin condition that I had been suffering from for many years.
I have used skin creams of different magnitudes, both prescription and non-prescription for several years to try and clear up a constant irritation that was not getting any better, in fact it was getting worse as the years went by.
I have been to several specialist & dermatologist to see if they could help me with no results.  I finally went to a specialist along with my daughter who duffers from an auto-immune disease and the doctor saw my hands and said that he would like to do a study of blood test to see what came back.  I agreed to the testing.
The test came back conclusive that I had a a high-intolerance to gluten products.  Now what?  The doctor told me the other things that I was also sensitive to and told me that I needed to clean up my eating habits!  At first I really didn't try to adhere to the diet recommendations, after all, how could gluten be related to skin problems.
I finally decided that I really needed to reread the study that was completed on me and take the recommendations seriously on how to change my lifelong eating habits.  So in August of 2009 I went totally GF, okay I've  backslid some along the way, but for the most part I do not knowingly ingest gluten.
My skin condition has improved dramatically.  I still have sensitive skin, but I don't have the "leprosy" looking irritated marks on my hands and legs that I did for so many years and don't feel the need to keep my hands or legs covered to hide the horrible irritation.
As I said, I have been on this journey and it will be a journey that I stay on for the rest of my life.  I am re-learning how to cook and to shop for groceries and to bake all gluten free.
Please come and join me as I post some of my findings along the way.