PRODUCT REVIEW: Saz's BBQ Sauce

I would certainly be doing a disservice to the world, especially my fellow Celiac's and allergy prone peeps if I didn't share with you this great product and deal! A few weeks ago, while down & out in a, "good Lord I cannot possibly eat another piece if plain baked chicken" rut, I decided to try out my skills at making homemade chicken nuggets. I used my Gluten Free corn tortilla bread crumbs (as mentioned in a previous post) and I've been hooked ever since! I had in the fridge some Saz's BBQ sauce that someone bought for me FOREVER ago and I just never gave the stuff a fair shot. I'm chalking it up to me just being stubborn and assumptive, as I was back in the day...ok, I may still be a tiny bit stubborn...depends on who you ask! Silly rabbit. Saz's BBQ sauce created the perfect marriage to my crispy homemade chicken nuggies!

I recently ran out and haven't been able to find it anymore at my local grocery store. I found Saz's BBQ products online and low & behold they had a super deal. The "Saz's Sauce Trio" for $10! That's 3, 28oz bottles, one of each of Saz's signature flavors for $10 (S&H was free!). I ordered 2 of the trio's and the shipment arrived within about 24 hours. Amazing! I haven't tasted the Vidalia Onion or the Sassy yet but all three flavors are Gluten Free, Fat Free and also do NOT contain any Soy, Milk, Egg, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Wheat, Fish, or Shellfish. My body is not a fan of soy and do you know how hard it is to find a BBQ Sauce, or ANY type of sauce for that matter, withOUT soy in it? Go order yours so you're ready for all of the big summer BBQ's coming up and a much deserved Thank you to Saz's for this delish product!

Holla at'cha suga! Suga COOKIES!

This sugar cookie mix has been burning a hole in my brain for a good 6 days now.  I found myself gazing out the window thinking about cookies, then sugar, then the little man standing on the pile of cookies on the box.  Yes, it got a little out of control but that's all over because they are now a reality!  The Cherrybrook Kitchen sugar cookie mix was on sale for about 4 bucks at my local health food store (worked out to be about $2 a dozen). The actual mix is Gluten Free, Peanut Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, & Nut Free...and they DON'T taste like crap!  How wonderful is that?  If you or anyone you know has any or all of these types of food allergies this mix is 100% recommended!  OR if you're on a diet: 1 cookie w/o the frosting is 0g fat and about 15g-18g of total carbs depending on how big you make them!  Not bad!  The back of the box calls for rice milk to keep it dairy free but I sub'd Fat Free Organic Milk because I'm good with dairy consumed in moderation.   

The store bought frosting scares me.  Way too many "unknown" ingredients so I made my own cream cheese vanilla frosting using butter, cream cheese, organic GF vanilla, and powdered sugar.  Someday I'll make them from scratch, but not today!!  I'd like to think of this as my Sandra Lee semi-homemade experiment.  Tiz the shizzy if I must say!  

As promised...

Our January Dinning Divas theme was "Italian night" so I decided to try making something new. I decided on a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis for herb stuffed tomatoes. I watched Giada make them on her Food Network show Everyday Italian. On the show she made them with italian gorgonzola cheese but I did a trial run before "Italian night" and come to find out, gorgonzola cheese is nasty, or at least the one I bought was. This same recipe posted by Susie D on Recipezaar is essentially the same thing but with pictures, which being an amateur I definitely prefer!

They turned out great! I'm pretty sure the girls liked them, and if they didn't they weren't telling! I sampled only one because I'm not a huge tomato lover and it was da bomb! I mixed the grated provolone with some shredded parmesan then sprinkled it very lightly with colby jack right at the end. It was a special occasion so I cheesed it up but if you wanted to just keep it simple with the provolone it would still be awesome. I of course substituted Gluten Free bread crumbs for regular bread crumbs. I have to say that the Southern Homestyle GF Bread Crumbs are one of my new favorite things. I make homemade chicken nuggets with them and they always turn out so crispy & crunchy, just like nuggie should be! Delish. I rate this dish super easy to make if you're thinking of entertaining a few people or just feeling like trying something new!

Party Like It's 2009!

Happy New Year to all!  Hope everyone had a fabulous and safe celebratory weekend.  I celebrated in GR at GP Sports Bar inside of the Amway Grand Plaza.  MC squared, AC, EC, and I ended up there in a round about way because it was too damn cold to wait in line anywhere else but we ended up having a blast!  This pic is essentially me on my tippy toes taking a picture of the Times Square ball on a very large TV!  YAY!

The 1st week of 2009 brought unto me a flu unlike any other.  I'm not gonna lie, it was 4 nights of pure hell.  As if being a Celiac is hard enough!  After some TLC and much needed rest I'm back in the saddle and ready to get 2009 rollin!  So thanks to all for a wonderful 2008 first blog year.  My resolution is to add to my blog plenty of my Gluten Free faves!  Most are everyday store bought items, but my goal is to try and add an occasional recipe (if I'm brave enough!).  I've not yet perfected the whole baking/cooking thing so I'm sure there'll be some good stories to go along with...

Christmas Chaos - I love it!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday!  Over the last few days I've participated in and witnessed everything from Christmas Eve beer pong to Christmas Day pin the hat on the turkey!  Wffhhheeeew, what a whirlwind and I wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world!  

Kind of long video but just a small sample of one of the finer chaotic moments!  Half of the fam wasn't even there!

Grandma Dee helping the kids play pin the hat on the turkey.  Isn't this a Thanksgiving game?  Whatever, tis the season!

Snow'd in!

I'm not sure WHAT Mother Nature's problem is but she needs to get over it!

Thank goodness my car is in the garage!  Right?...Wait, where's my garage??!!

The hills are alive with the sound of let's freeze our asses off!

AC, I just HAD to take this pic of your drive!  I'm positive it no longer looks like this due to the fact we got 5-6 more inches last night not to mention the blizzard conditions of today!

Snow is crap.

It used to be so pretty...until cold and snow and winter.

We knew it would eventually happen and it did. Winter has officially cracked the whip on us. I loved winter as a child. Going sledding, toboggining, ice skating, snow days! But now, I'd like to say I'm a middle of the road kind of gal when it comes to winter/snow/ice/slush/salt etc... BUT I'm not. I try my darndest to enjoy it because sometimes it is pretty and whatnot but it's gross and cold and that's it. I have compiled a list of 5 "LOVES" and 5 "HATES" about the wintery weather/season.

LOVES

1. Snow men - they really are cool at any age.

2. The ability to buy sweaters and let your gut out for 3 to 4 months!

3. Christmas cards with pictures on them - or just Christmas cards in general.

4. A legit excuse to stay in.

5. Bailey's & coffee.

HATES

1. Salt trucks. Everything about em' - hate em'

2. People who like to show off their 4 wheel drive - Hello, you're scaring the crap out of everyone else! Plus you still look like a dumb ass.

3. Broken wipers.

4. Gross slushy crap and road salt all over your nice dress clothes.

5. The inability to properly enjoy a slurpee (or any delightful frozen drink for that matter).