Harvest Festival with Gluten Free Cupcakes

Harvest resumes and the season brings changes.

Steve and Ben continue to fight their way through the field of beans in order to get them in the bins to sell at a later date. Steve just finished up harvesting in the Delta and has moved the combine to Macon to help Ben finish harvesting here.We are due to have more rain on Tuesday so I feel as though we are running a race with time. It's such a relief to know that God is in control.

I recently made bread and cupcakes (thanks to my sister-in-law Vanessa who gave me a "The Gluten Free Pantry" mix). The bread will be used at home but I took the cupcakes to a harvest festival in Macon. My friends at FUMC are always amazed at how good my gluten free food really is, I hardly ever have leftovers when I carry things to share with them. I have to admit though this mix is just not as good after trying the "Betty Crocker" cake mixes.

We (Ashia and I) took Austin to her first festival on Sunday afternoon. It was fun showing her off to our friends who had not had the chance to meet her.

I am so excited after harvest we will be able to go relax at the MSU men's basketball games. We are so please that once again we are getting season tickets. For those of you who have never been to a college men's basketball game, it is VERY HARD to get tickets. The season tickets for men's basketball are sold to those who have the most points. The point system is based on prior ticket purchases, contributions and consecutive years you have been involved in sports. Every year we feel blessed that we once again can attend the MSU Men's basketball games! GO DAWGS

The visit of our children.

What a great week! Our girls and their families, except for son-in-law Eric, were home for a few days and we had a blast! Well most of us had a blast our two grand-daughters Alayna and Emma were sick most of the time so it may not have been a blast for them. The aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and great-grandparents had fun visiting each other and with baby Austin.

We also worked in a little celebration, Alayna's 8th birthday was the 14th so we had her a small party with her grand-parents on Sunday afternoon. Then we had the local Good's over (pardon the pun) to visit with the girls and their families, some of them managed to get in some Austin time too. I'm not sure what Austin thought of all the attention, she acted as though she enjoyed it.  It was so funny Alayna was excited that so many people came that day just to celebrate her birthday. 

My Dad came and spent a few days to see everyone and he had a little Austin time also. Our next guest are to be some more of Austin's adopted great-grandparents, we're excited to see them again and to show Austin off once more.

Steve had to leave in middle of our visiting and return to the Delta to try and finish up harvest there. Ben has been popping in and out and working late nights here. I'm sorry that I was the one able to spend most of the time with Mary, George and the girls NOT!!! :)

Here are some photos along with a recipe for a "Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf" that I want to share with you!

Ashia or Austin received more gifts from the family! 

Aunt Sarah enjoyed bragging to a cousin about where she was and who she was holding while Dad checks out the all natural huggies.

I tried to spend time with ALL my grand-children and grand-dog. LOL

Sarah having more Austin time.

Emma with her Austin time.

Alayna and Dad watching a little TV.

Alayna's Austin time.

Party Favors

Wow a tomato you can throw. She liked this better than her real gift!

The Princess Sitting pretty at the party.

The cake

Pop having a little Austin time.

My poor sick girls they spent the day on the sofas.

Alayna

Emma

Emma had extremely dry hands so we gave her a hand treatment. She's using my socks to cover the wrap. She doesn't look happy does she?

 We also had a baby shower for the baby due in December. All four family members opened gifts for baby Joshua.

 

Emma opening her gift.

Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf

Source: Gluten-free is Life

Ingredients
1 ¼ c. GF baking mix
¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar; packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ can (7.5 ounces) pumpkin
¾ c. chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease loaf pan.
Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl; blend well.
Once mixed, pour batter into loaf pan.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, until top is firm and toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes; dust with powdered sugar (if desired).

I hope you enjoyed visiting with my family. Have a good weekend.

Time for the family!

I am so excited and I can hardly contain it, our girls and most of their families are coming home for the weekend!!! I say most of the family because our son-in-law Eric can't come, he has to work. :(  When you read this blog we will be visiting with our babies. My house is clean, my menu is made and the recipes printed, I'll try to remember to take photos so I can share some of them with you.

On the menu is "Chocolate Pumpkin Bread" that I have taken from "Gluten-free is Life" it looks great and I can't wait to try it.

I also have a special pasta recipe that Ashia makes that I have adapted to gluten free. If I was gonna say any of my recipes were to die for this would be one of them, it is wonderful.

There is "Roasted Tomato Basil Soup" that I am going to try and many other items.

So tune in next week for photos of my precious family and some yummy recipes!!!!

I had to add one!

"Tasty Kitchen" favorite recipes from real kitchens and Oatmeal Scotchies

I recently received an e-mail from a friend telling me to look into this website for gluten free recipes. I was really impressed by the quality of the web page and wanted to share it with you.

When you become a member (it’s free!) of Tasty Kitchen, it opens up a whole world of fun. Communicate with other members via Wire posts or direct messages, or use your Windows Live ID to enable the ability to chat, one-on-one, with other users. Browse members’ common interests—music, hobbies, and favorite foods—and become friends with other Tasty Kitchen users you enjoy.

Submit your very best recipes so the community can give ‘em a try. A good photo is helpful but not required. I’ll rate user recipes myself and feature great recipes on the front page. I can’t wait to see what everyone has to offer!

As you try out recipes on Tasty Kitchen, be sure to come back and rate them; it helps other folks who will read the recipe in the future…and besides, it’s fun to click on the little red rating mitts. Leave reviews/comments, too. This is your community! New site functionality will be added all the time: a Tasty Kitchen blog is coming soon, as well as archives for the Featured recipes you see on the front page. As always, let me know anytime you see something that could use tweaking. I want this to work for everyone.

See you in the Kitchen,
Pioneer Woman

So sign up and ask to be my friend gracefullyglutenfree!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/categories/gluten-free/

blog address:
http://www.belleofthekitchen.blogspot.com

Ok, so I've shared a new find and now I want to get right down and get honest. Have you ever made something NOT gluten-free but wanted it so bad that you thought, "I'll just eat one, maybe it won't hurt me?". Recently I had my daughter and newest grand-baby visiting me due to bad weather. I had planned on transposing my favorite cookie recipe "Oatmeal Scotchies" to gluten-free that day so I continued with my plan. My daughter (Ashia) and I were tasting the butterscotch morsels when she asked, "Mom can you eat these?" My answer was, "I'm sure I can" as I turned the package over and began reading ingredients. About half way through my reading I noticed the word barley and then I said, "well it says it has barley but I"m going to eat a cookie anyway because one cookies won't have many chips in it. Ashia said, "MMMOOOMMMM" and I realized she was right, there would be a lot of chips in each cookie and I would get sick. So in anguish and moving the slowest I have EVER moved I went and put up my gluten free ingredients (I didn't want to waist them) and got out the real deal to make MY favorite cookies for my family. :( Has that ever happened to you? If so share some of your experiences with me.

Here is MY FAVORITE cookies recipe but I didn't transpose it since my butterscotch chips were not gluten free. Be my guest and transpose if for me, just send me a copy!! PLEASE

Oatmeal Scotchies

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or grated peel of 1 orange
• 3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
• 1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Butterscotch Flavored Morsels

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats and morsels. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 7 to 8 minutes for chewy cookies or 9 to 10 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION:
Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

Remember if you transpose it send me a copy!! PLEASE!!!!!

Saturday football & a bowl of homemade Chili

Over the weekend we gathered at Ben and Ashia's to listen to our favorite football team and oh what a doll Austin was. She's learning early, she screamed and cheered and I have photos to prove it! =)

I was so excited it had finally cooled off and I was able to make Chili for Ben, Ashia and I one afternoon. My family doesn't eat soups during hot weather so that is one of the things I look forward to, fall weather and homemade soups! Mmmm It gives me more options for a meal.

 Classic Beef Chili

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 pound lean hamburger

1 sweet onion; chopped

2 cloves of garlic; finely chopped

1 TBLS. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 14-oz can tomato sauce

1 15-oz can red kidney beans; drained and rinsed

1 10 oz can mild tomatoes with chilies

1 4 oz can tomato paste

½ cup water; warm

Instructions:

Cook beef and onion together, drain. Add chili powder and cumin. Stir to combine. Combine tomatoes. beans, and tomato paste in slow cooker. Stir in beef mixture, cover and cook until flavor blends well. About 1 hour.

Being southern I always make "My Favorite Corn Bread" recipe to go with any soup.

Thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again soon!

Don't let your Holloween candy spook you.

Did you know that many candy companies have an allergen page? I didn't, until I was reading "Gluten Free Is Life" and she was talking about it. After reading this it sparked an area of interest and I started looking into it. Here is some of the information that I have found.

Baby Ruth (Nestlé USA)
Gluten-free information on 6/6/2009 on the FAQ page of the Baby Ruth website (http://www.babyruth.com):

Question: “Does Baby Ruth contain gluten?”
Answer: “No, Baby Ruth does not contain gluten, however, due to formula changes and new product introductions, consumers should always read the ingredient statement on the wrapper for the most current information.”

Brach's (Farley's & Sathers Candy Company, Inc.)
Brach’s does not provide a list of their gluten-free products. To ask them whether a specific product is gluten-free call Farleys & Sathers Candy Company, Inc. Consumer Relations at 1-888-247-9855 (This is a toll free phone number.)

Farley's & Sathers Candy Company, Inc.
They do not provide lists of their gluten-free products. To ask them whether a specific product is gluten-free call Farleys & Sathers Candy Company, Inc. Consumer Relations at 1-888-247-9855 (This is a toll free phone number.) Their brands include: Brach's®, Bobs®, Chuckles®, Farley's®, Fruit Stripe®, Heide®, Now And Later®, RainBlo®, Sathers®, Super Bubble®, Trolli®.




Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.
Gluten-free information on 6/4/2009:

• Andes Products: Andes Mints, Andes Baking Chips
• Candy Carnival
• Caramel Apple Pops
• Cella Cherries
• Charleston Chew
• Charms Blow Pops
• Charms Flat Pops
• Child's Play
• Cry Baby
• Dots & Crows
• Dubble Bubble: Twist Gum, Ball Gum, Candy, Specialty Gum
• Fluffy Stuff
• Frooties
• Junior Mints
• Nik-L-Nip
• Razzles
• Sugar Babies
• Sugar Daddy
• Tootsie Pops
• Tootsie Roll
• Wack-O-Wax
• Zip-A-DEE Mini Pops

Gluten-free statement on the Company FAQ page on 6/04/2009 at the Tootsie Roll Industries website (www.tootsie.com):
Question: “Which of your products is gluten free?”
Answer: “At this time, all of our confections are gluten free. We do not use wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, spelt or any of their components and that includes our dusting on our conveyor belts. We do use corn and soy products in the manufacturing of our products.”

Gluten-free statement on the “Healthy Living” page under “Nutrition Labels and Allergen Information” on 6/04/2009 at the Tootsie Roll Industries website (www.tootsie.com):
“Tootsie provides the most accurate and updated ingredient statements for each of its products. Consult the Nutrition Chart for each product to determine whether a candy or gum fits into your dietary plan.
All Tootsie products are gluten-, peanut-, and nut product-free. Tootsie does not use wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, spelt, or any of their components, either as ingredients or as part of the manufacturing process.
Corn and soy products are used during the manufacturing process.”

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
They do not provide a list of their gluten-free products. To ask which of their brands are gluten-free, call them toll free at 1-800-WRIGLEY. Wrigley brands include Juicy Fruit®, Wrigley's Spearmint®, Doublemint®, Skittles®, Life Savers®, Eclipse®, Winterfresh® and Altoids® .
Please note that Altoids Dark Chocolate Dipped Mints are NOT gluten-free and therefore Altoids Dark Chocolate Dipped Mints should be avoided on the gluten-free diet.

 Hershey's has an allergen page
Things that are gluten-free, verified recently (not miniatures):

• Hershey’s Special Dark
• Hershey’s Bars & Kisses
• Reese’s PB Cups

The modified food starch that we use in our candies in corn starch.  We are in the process of updating our package labels to reflect products that are gluten free.  
Our gluten free brands are: 
MIKE AND IKE® Brand Candies
HOT TAMALES® Brand Candies 
PEEPS® Marshmallow Candies 
PEANUT CHEW® Brand candies 
TEENEE BEANEE® Jelly Beans 
JUST BORN® Jelly Bean. 


This information pertains to all Just Born candies that we make and package at our two manufacturing locations (Bethlehem, PA and Philadelphia, PA) and are in their original packaging. Please be aware that we do sell some of our products in bulk to other manufacturers who may be repackaging them in another facility.  We encourage consumers to read the labels carefully for any gluten information on products that might be packaged elsewhere.  For further questions, we recommend consumers call our Consumer Relations Team toll-free at 1-888-645-3453.

Q:	My child has an intolerance to the gluten protein found in wheat. What products do NOT contain this ingredient?
A:	Dum Dum Pops, Saf-T-Pops, Swirl Saf-T-Pops, Marshmallow Treats, Candy Canes, Cane Classics, Dum Dum Canes and Dum Dum Chewy Pops do not contain the gluten protein found in wheat, barley, rye, or oats.

So dig in this Halloween and don't let your candy spook you. Maybe now you have a better idea of what is safe for you or your kids to eat.

I had to post a new photo of Austin, here she is ready for her first Doctor's appointment at 12-days old. I'm sure there are more to come!