Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without stuffing!

I know, not everyone likes stuffing but I do. Last year, I attempted to make my own gluten free stuffing. I made some gluten free cornbread and then used that to make stuffing and it turned out pretty awful. It was like slop. Just a big old pan full of slop and I hated it. Thankfully, I made sausage rice because my kids hate stuffing and that is what I always make for them instead so I wasn't completely void of a stuffing substitute but it wasn't truly stuffing. This year Aldi had the Live G-Free Turkey gluten free stuffing and they also had chicken gluten free stuffing. So I picked up some of both. I had the turkey stuffing for Thanksgiving and I have the chicken stuffing set aside for later this month when I try the chicken and stuffing instant pot recipe that I used to make with regular stuffing back before I found out about my gluten sensitivity.

So, what did I think of the gluten free stuffing?

I thought it was FANTASTIC on the day of Thanksgiving. My only problem with it was the reheat on following days. For some reason the gluten free stuffing becomes VERY hard and dry so if you just reheat it in the microwave it's pretty awful. What I had to do was to spoon some left over gravy over the top of it and warm it up that way so it warmed it up and rehydrated the stuffing at the same time. If you warm it back up that way it's good but not on it's own so be warned if you get the Live G-free stuffing from Aldi it's best to just make enough for the meal with no left overs or just make sure you have gravy on hand for reheating leftovers.

So there you have it, Live G-free gluten free turkey stuffing from Aldi.

Let's talk Cheerios!

Ever since I started eating gluten free I have been eating Honey Nut Cheerios because I knew they were gluten free.

I never really explores other flavors because for some reason I thought only the Honey Nut ones were gluten free. Well, I'm over that and I have been exploring other flavors.

First I got the Very Berry and I LOVE them. They are not overly flavored but they have just enough sweetness and berry to them that they seem like a treat.

Next I have tried the Fruity Cheerios. Honestly, I thought they were pretty gross. They tastes like fruit loops and I always hated fruit loops so these were gross. BUT, my kids loved them so they didn't go uneaten.

Last week while I was grocery shopping I discovered two new flavors so of course I snatched those up.

First, we have Pumpkin Spice. I'm not a HUGE fan of pumpkin spice stuff but I do like pumpkin bread and pie so I have it a try. I couldn't eat it dry. It was too pumpkin spice flavored for me but with milk it reduced the flavor enough that it was good.

Next we have Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios and these O have to say are my new favorite! They are sooo good! That's both with and without milk.

Anyone try any other flavors? I would love to know. ⬇

Update on Chēbē pizza

I said I would update today after I found out if the pizza was any good warmed up the next day. I had it for lunch today and I have to say it is still fantastic and the crust was a bit more crisp which made it really good! I do have to mention that I don't warm pizza up in the microwave because that is just gross. Pizza always tastes rubbery and gross whenever I warm it back up in a microwave so I just pop a piece of pizza on a sheet of foil and throw it in the oven until the cheese starts to get empty again. So I can't tell you if it's any good warned in the microwave but in the oven the pizza was just as good the next day as it was last night. I totally recommend this pizza crust mix of you enjoy homemade pizza.

My first gluten free pizza crust mix!

I love home made pizza I even have a little pizza oven that looks like a box of pizza. It cooks homemade pizza crust PERFECTLY!! Just look how cute the pizza oven is!

Since I have been gluten free I pretty much have stopped making it because I wouldn't be able to eat it. Well my husband specifically asked for my homemade pizza this week. I had seen at Aldi they had a gluten free pizza crust mix so I had originally planned to buy that while grocery shopping so I could make my own little personal pizza. Unfortunately, they were out when I went grocery shopping on Sunday. So I stopped during the week at Weis because they have a whole gluten free section at the end of their healthy food isle (which is basically normal junk like mac-n-cheese only it's all organic or it's vegan ect...). I figured they would have some gluten free pizza crust mix for me and they actually be 2. One was like $5.29 and the other was like $3.95 so I just grabbed the cheaper one and went home. Never looked at the box really until tonight. 

After making the pizza crust for my kids and husband I left it in a bowl to rise with a towel over the top. That was the first time I looked at the box. The directions called for you to mix the crust mix with 2 Tbsp of oil. Then mix a cup of sharp cheddar cheese and then 4 Tbsp of milk. I instantly was thinking, "oh no, what is this!" But I made it and even though the crust was not very dough like I tried to stay positive. I also had no sharp cheddar cheese but I had some left over Mexican blend that I hoped would work instead. I rolled it out on the pan, topped it, and popped it in the oven. 

The box said it was only made with 4 ingredients and none of them was rice or corn. I couldn't imagine it tasting very good but I have to say I was VERY pleasantly surprised. It was FANTASTIC pizza!!! It tastes a lot like you made garlic breadsticks and topped the with pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. I will totally be getting that again. I stupidly forgot to poke the crust with a fork before putting It in the oven so it turned out to be a very thick crust and so I as only able to eat one piece. I saved the rest and we will see how well it does tomorrow when I reheat it for lunch.

Thanks Chēbē for making a fantastic gluten free pizza crust!!!

Epic Gift Idea!!

For Christmas like 5-6 years ago Kris got me an iPad mini. I loved that thing and so did my boys. It stopped turning on about a year ago and the boys were devastated. So this morning while I was laying in bed waiting for the dogs to bark and inform me they were done outside I was cruising around in Walmart.com. And I spotted that they now sell refurbished ipads.

So I was thinking, for Christmas this year, maybe I will get Bran and Kurt each an iPad as their big gift and I can get them each a protective case and some iTunes cards as their smaller gifts. That is something that I KNOW for a fact that they will love and use on a daily basis.

That also got me thinking that maybe that is what I could get for Kris for Christmas too. Not an ipad, because he dislikes Apple, but maybe a Samsung tablet. He wouldn't want anything big or bulky because he'd just use it to play games and to watch Netflix. Honestly, I was completely out of ideas for him for Christmas this year anyway. So this will take that weight off my shoulders.

And then for Hunter, He will just get more paw patrol DVDs and maybe a paw patrol play set as his big thing.

So that's my idea. I think this Christmas will be epic in their eyes. :)

The First Week Back To School

The kids went back to school on Tuesday. So this has been a week of settling into a new schedule. Hunter, my youngest, only goes to school 2 days a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays). So Tuesday was also his first day of school. My husband always goes into work late on the VERY first day of school for each of the kids (preschool). That way he can be there for the very first time they go in and find their cubby and all that. So we got all the kids up extra early so we could all go and drop Hunter off at the 2's and 3's program at our local community college. So I took the usual first day of school photo with the 3 of my boys together before we left for Hunter's school.

Then, of course I had to take a picture of Hunter outside his classroom door just like I do to all my kids on their first day of preschool.

He looks really scared in this picture but he did pretty good. I told him the whole way to school that he would be at school for a little while without me and then I would come back after he ate his lunch and I could come get him. So when we left he made a sad face but the teacher showed him some toys and he went off to play.

Then, after we got back to the house I grabbed the boys lunches and we headed out to the bus stop. So I had to take the first day at school bus stop picture that the boys hate. Kurtis is in 4th grade now and Brandon is in 1st grade. Most people think they are twins because Brandon is so big. Kurtis is in the camo and Brandon has the red shorts.

Back at the preschool, when I came to pick Hunter up he was standing by the door waiting for me with his bookbag on and lunch box in hand. The teacher said, "As soon as he was done his lunch he got up and took his lunch box to his cubby grabbed his bookbag and just stood there"  So obviously he was listening this morning when I told him I'd pick him up after he was done eating lunch. Since we got him up so early and dropped him off at school so early he was TIRED and pretty much instantly fell asleep on the ride home from school.

Usually I don't put my kids into preschool until they are ready for pre-k so they have that year of a school type setting so kindergarten isn't a total shock to them. With Hunter, he only turned 3 on the 2nd. The only reason I have him in so early is because of his speech delay. His speech therapist said that it would really help him. So I'm hoping that it's true and he talks a lot more soon. He still has speech therapy but I want to do all I can to help promote him to speak. I also don't usually drop him off so early. I take him after the boys get on the bus and today was his 2nd day of school and his last day of school for this week. He did good today. He went right in and when he noticed I was talking to a teacher outside his classroom door he came back and dragged me into the room by the shirt. He put his lunch box and bookbag in his cubby and I gave him a kiss and he went and stood in line to wash his hands for morning snack and I left. When I came back to pick him up he wasn't done eating so he was sitting at the table with his lunch box and it was adorable! He saw me and ran to me and hugged my leg. So I think he's good with school.  I guess it's only me that comes home and feels weird in a completely silent house. I did get a lot of cleaning done today and I even got a good workout in before I went to go pick him back up after lunch. Of course, the second my other boys came home from school the house got trashed again but I DID feel like I accomplished a lot today even if No one can tell now. 😸

I've struck GOLD (in frozen pizza)!!!

I have finally found it!!!!!! The best gluten free frozen pizza yet!!!

It was $4.99 at Aldi and not only is it totally tasty but it is also the PERFECT size. It fits one of my small dinner plates perfectly. If you have ever seen a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza it's basically the same size as that. So it's just enough pizza to fill you. It's perfect!!!