Purple Birth Control Glasses

Imagine these eyeglass frames...in light purple. That's what I'm wearing these days.

This is a funny story about my glasses. It seques to a recipe for bread I tried this weekend.

Last Thursday, Randy had an eye appointment at Lenscrafters. While he was getting his eyes checked, I inquired about repairing the frames of my glasses, which I basically bent out of shape when I fell in Paris.

The nice man said sure, we'll be happy to fix those for free, ma'am.

Bend. Bend. Shape. CLICK. BREAK. He looks up and says, I seem to have broken your frames. He left to speak to a manager, then comes back and says, I'll find some frames here that will fit your lenses, at no charge, and we'll fix those for you.

What I ended up with is purple birth control glasses. Free glasses, sure, but I'm not sure I like them as much as my old ones. But I'm stuck -- I got my glasses in Milledgeville, where they're still under warranty, and I won't be able to get them fixed until next week. And if they can't fix them, I may be stuck with these purple birth control classes.

Sigh.

In case you don't know why they call these "birth control glasses," well, they render the wearer so unattractive...well, I hope you can "see" what I mean.

Randy's glasses, on the other hand, are lovely. I wish I could show you a picture of our new looks, but his computer doesn't have a place for my compact flash card. You'll just have to imagine. This is not, I might add, an indictment against Lenscrafters. They were very nice.

Seque: Easy Sandwich Bread

Elizabeth Barbone, of www.glutenfreebaking.com, does baking seminars all over the U.S., and last week, she shared a recipe on the Delphi Celiac Site for her Easy Sandwich Bread. It is! Easy. And it is delicious. Out of the oven, it was crusty and tasty, and non-GF dinner guests thought it was great (either that, or they were too polite). Yesterday, I ate a slice with peanut butter. Still moist and tasty. I am considering a tomato sandwich today...we'll see. At any rate, I am very excited about this recipe. It is a perfect everyday bread!

I would like to share this recipe with you, but out of courtesy to Elizabeth, who hasn't given me permission to do so, I won't...right now. But if you really want to know this simple recipe for a loaf of GF bread, email me, and I'll forward you the Delphi Celiac Listserv message (and that, I don't think, violates her rights).

Edited to add: My bud Carrie, the Ginger Lemon Girl, sent me Elizabeth's blog address, which has the recipe posted. So if it's there, it's now here:

Much love, and happy Monday!
Ging

A new veggie source -- hydroponics

Last Sunday, as we were driving back to the house on Linebaugh Avenue, I saw the sign nearest and dearest to my heart: "Fresh produce."

I'd only arrive back home in Tampa the night before, and the cupboards were bare. But I kept driving, determined to finish my errands. I'd come back.

Well, Friday, I went back to Urban Oasis Hydroponic Farm and found a beautiful bounty of seasonal, freshly picked hydroponic produce. Hydroponic produce isn't ground in the ground, it's grown ABOVE ground in a special container. It uses less water, no pesticides, and the formula is completely healthy.

Music to my ears. Clean food, grown locally. How can you miss?

For $5 I got banana peppers, some beautiful tomatoes, cucumbers, and some red jalapeno peppers -- beautiful stuff.

I struck up a conversation with the lovely owner, Dave, who told me that the former owner of the lot was born and raised in...Milledgeville. He said, "she went to some women's college there." I told him I taught at that former women's college.

It was pure Karma. PURE and natural, and local.

So as Dave and I were talking, I told him what I planned to do with the lovely veggies I'd gathered from his farm. I promised the recipe, and here it is:

Hearty Greek Pasta Salad

2 cups cooked GF pasta (I used Tinkyada Brown Rice Fusili, but you can use any pasta you want if you're not GF. I think those veggie spirals would be good with this.)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
2-3 large fresh tomatoes, chopped fine (or 8-10 cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters)
1 ripe Hass avocado, cut into slivers
1/2 lemon
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing (I use Newman's Own Light or make my own with Penzeys Country French Vinaigrette, fresh olive oil and Balsamic vinegar.
1/4 cup green onions, sliced (I had to use the freeze dried Penzeys Shallots
1 4 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
1 4 oz. can drained sliced black olives (your choice of black olives)
1/2 jar capers, drained
1/4 cup each Italian flat leaf parsley and basil, cut in a chiffonade
2 large banana peppers, chopped (I used red and yellow) OR bell peppers, chopped
1 small jar roasted red peppers, chopped
2 small or one large burpless cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and chopped (about 1 cup chopped)
1 t. Tony Chachere's seasoning (contains salt) or seasoning salt of choice
1 t. Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning (or garlic powder and oregano).

Directions:

After pasta is cooked and drained, place in a large serving bowl. Immediately add onions, parsley, basil, salad dressing, season salt, and Mrs. Dash. Stir. This is the essential step here, because the warm pasta will absorb the flavoring and you won't need as much dressing.

Stir in the beans, olives, capers, peppers, cucumbers, and peppers. Mix thoroughly. Smooth over the top. Arrange the feta cheese in the middle of the top of the salad, and then ring the cheese with the chopped tomatoes. Toss the avocado with lemon juice (so it won't brown) and sprinkle it on top of the feta cheese.

Let stand at room temperature. Don't refrigerate this before you serve it!

Want to make it a main dish salad? Add two cans of drained, flaked tuna in olive oil (or a pound of cooked, seasoned shrimp) to the pasta mixture before you top with cheese.

Show it to your guests before you toss it all together. Serves about six as a main dish salad, and 10 as a side dish (depending on the guests, of course).
*******************************
You can read about my friend Dave and Urban Oasis Hydroponic Farm here:

Much love, and gotta go eat that salad now!
Ging

A new book on the market

I got my first exposure to Roben Ryberg's new GF cookbook, You Won't Believe It's Gluten-Free, at our middle Georgia Gluten Intolerance Group meeting on Saturday. Roben is a regular on the Delphi Celiac Disease Forum and was a recent speaker at the National GIG conference in Dallas. I decided I really liked her a long time ago when she sent me the recipe for onion rings from her first book! Roben is just delightful -- warm, caring, funny, and a GREAT cookbook author!

Both Carol and Theresa had met her and gotten the book. It's just a great book for your GF Cookbook Collection. They brought a cookbook for another group member, which was a nice thing to do. I suggest you buy two cookbooks -- one for yourself, and one to give to a GF cook you love.

Carol (who got to meet Roben at the conference, lucky woman!) brought some yummy GF chocolate cupcakes to the picnic Saturday, made from Roben's recipe. I am waiting for my book (on order right now) but I jotted down that recipe and one for donuts, something I've been really craving.

Let me tell you, those cupcakes were delish! Moist and chocolatey, the held up to a light frosting. And I made the donuts Sunday, and they were very, very tasty.

There are a couple of things I really like about Roben's cookbooks (this is her second) and recipes. First, she doesn't always use the "tower of flour" that so many GF recipes require. Most of GF folks have a freezer or fridge with a flour mix, but Roben has recipes that uses one kind of flour. The donuts, for instance, used only cornstarch. I like that. She alternates between potato starch, corn starch, and rice flour. I could do any of those with ease. I also actually LIKE those flours/starches!

Roben also uses a mixture of baking soda and powder in her baking, which gives things a bigger lift. I could not believe how the donuts I made puffed up in the oil when fried. I used the Rumsford baking powder, and it really does the job.

Thanks to my dear brother-in-law Ron, I have a bunch of GF cookbooks (mostly the late Bette Hagman collection,)but Roben's books can easily supplant them as my favorites.

Roben graciously gave me permission to cite this recipe from page 28 "You Won't Believe It's Gluten-Free by Roben Ryberg, published by DeCapo Lifelong Books.

Crackers, Cheese
- corn -

These poofy little crackers are rolled and cut. Miniature cookie cutters are available in cooking supply stores if you wish to mimic the tiny crackers loved by children.

Ingredients:

4 ounces cheddar cheese shredded
¼ cup softened butter
¾ cup cornstarch, 95 grams
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon milk
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda

Topping:

salt or other dried herbs or spices as desired

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine all ingredients, except milk, in mixing bowl. Mix until mixture resembles a fine crumb. Add milk and beat well.

On lightly greased surface, pat or roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into ¾ inch squares or other small shape that you like. You can also cut into larger round or square cracker shapes if desired (just extend baking time).

Prick tops of crackers with fork and sprinkle lightly with salt or other dried herbs or spices as desired.

Bake until golden brown and crisp, approximately 10 minutes. Crackers will be light and crispy, although barely browning at the edges. The bottom of the cracker will have a bit more color.

Makes approximately 5 dozen small crackers.

Much love, and buy this book! Thanks, Roben!
Ging

One picture is worth a thousand words.

Jeffrey came home from Camp Big Heart today. He had his new shirt, his annual trophy, and he danced with a girl named Sarah who apparently is very sweet on him...

Exhausting work for a man, isn't it?

Much love, (and I love this young man, if you couldn't tell!)
Ging

Up your ante!

Nope. Not about poker. About a colonoscopy.

When you reach a certain point in life, you have to start having these procedures, and my I'd not had one since 2001. Since I have significant digestive problems in addition to my gluten intolerance, well, today was my day.

I'll spare you the details on the prep, except to say: My doc uses Miralax instead of the InstaPrep ColoPrep whatever it's called, and it's much nicer. I mixed it with apple juice and it went down well. Well, not really. By 8 last night, after a day of only clear liquids, I thought I'd been glutened. My doc assured me today that because of my slow digestion, the prep didn't move through as fast as some folks. It was a long night...and my appointment was at 2 p.m.

OK, so here's the cool story: I actually didn't fall asleep, and I watched the whole thing!

I know Katie Couric watched the long tube snaking through her bowels, and I've had a friend or two who stayed awake, but last time, I was sound out of it. And Randy slept through his last year. So did Daddy and Mary.

But me? Wide awake, chatting away about digestion, how my new meds are working, the weather in Tampa, etc. It was cool, too, like looking around the corners in caves and stuff. It reminded me a lot of "The Deep" when Jacqueline Bissett was looking for those morey eels...

And I was fascinated. I mean, it's not every day you get to see inside your own...well, you know where I'm going with this. I even watched when the doc took the biopsies of my small intestines to check for the healing of my villi!

So here's what I learned: Miralax is completely GF with a very nice help line. Dulcolax, stimulant and stool softener, are also GF. And Kroger brand Biscodyl is also GF. In case you have one of these coming up soon.

No recipes. Just a funny story.
Much love,
Ging

A Papa-licious Pie (A Sunday Blessing, a few days late)

Jeffrey and I were blessed to spend Father's Day Weekend with my Daddy in Atlanta. We had a great time. Mostly, I cooked a lot, trying to get Mary to rest her knees. It was a lovely visit!

Daddy and I also took Jeffrey to Camp Big Heart on Sunday. It is his favorite time of year. He has been attending this camp, run by the Civitan Club, since 1999. Hard to believe it's his 10th visit!)

Saturday morning, I went to the Morningside Organic Market and got some beautiful local produce. They had baby candy-cane (striped) beets, beautiful baby pattypan squash, and organic sunflowers. As I know my Daddy loves sunflowers, I bought him a big bunch for Father's Day.

For dinner, I made the Freakin' Awesome Tropical Chicken on the grill with grilled fresh pineapple slices. Daddy was the grill master. I took the marinade and cooked it down, making a chutney-like topping. I highly recommend it this way.

I also roasted the beets and made Fresh Beet Salad. I took the beet greens, which were young and tender, and sauteed them with onions and garlic. They were also delicious. We also had wild rice and roasted squash as side dishes, along with a beautiful fresh tomato. What a bounty that dinner was. YUMMY.

For dessert, we had a Fresh Blackberry Crumble Pie, which was also delicious. I call it my "Papa-licious Pie" because I made it for the best Papa (to Jeffrey) and Daddy (to me) in the whole world.

Fresh Blackberry Crumble Pie (The Papa-licious Pie)

One pie crust, either from Whole Foods, or homemade
One quart blackberries, washed and drained (or mixed berries, raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries - your choice)
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Topping:

2 tablespoons brown sugar Splenda
1 cup GF whole oats
1/2 cup GF flour mix (or baking mix)
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup softened butter

Mix the blackberries with the sugar and cornstarch and place in the pie crust. Mix the "topping mix" together until it is crumbly and moist. Place it on top of the blackberries.

Bake the pie until the crust is golden, at 350 degrees, for about 45 minutes to one hour. Do not let the crumble mix burn.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream while warm.

Much love, and more pie!
Ging

Fresh Pineapple Upside Down Cake - GF

Last week, for some insane reason, I had a craving for a pineapple upside cake. I could not, for the life of me, get it out of my mind, so I decided I had to make one.

As you know, I lack the GF baking gene in epic proportions. And, since I left the good GF stuff I needed to bake a cake in Milly, I went out to purchase my first off-the-shelf GF cake mix.

What to do? We were Sweetbay, so I grabbed a Gluten Free Pantry Old Fashioned Cake and Cookie Mix.


The verdict? Not bad. Not bad at all.

If you go here you'll see the contents of said mix. For me, it works because there's no sorghum or millet flower. The calories aren't that big, if you check out the link (until you add the brown sugar and the margarine...)

So here's how I made a Fresh Pineapple Upside Down Cake:
One 8 by 8 square baking pan
One whole fresh pineapple, cut into rings or planks. (OK, use canned in juice if you have to. Chucks or spears would also work, but use the pineapple in juice, and make sure you blot them dry.)
One cup dark brown sugar
One stick margarine (or butter, or dairy free fat substitute)
One box GF white (or yellow) cake mix

Prepare cake mix on box as directed. ( I used organic eggs and rice milk; you can make this mix dairy or egg free if you like).
Melt one stick of margarine and place in the bottom of the pan. Dribble the brown sugar over the butter so it absorbs, and then lay about six slices of pineapple on top of the brown sugar. You can load it up an layer it, like the picture, if you want to. If you're a sadist and like cherries, add some of them, but I didn't because they're filled with HFCS, and I didn't want any of that on my cake.

Top with cake mix and bake as the package directs for the cake. When done, (You can test this cake by traditional means) immediately invert the cake onto a serving plate so the pineapple and caramel will pour out over the cake.

The corners of the cake will be all caramel-ly, and the pineapple will be fresh and moist.

Now, if you have a Whole Foods, you can find a 365 Recipe Whole Foods Brand GF Cake and Cookie Mix, and it's virtually the same. But I've found that the GFP White Cake and Cookie Mix is widely available at about $4 a box. If you're not GF -- use a regular yellow cake mix and use a larger pan (13 by 9) and follow the directions. Works just the same.

Much love, and no, I didn't save any for you!
Ging

Kate's Great Virtual GF BBQ (A Sunday Blessing)

First, I'd like to say that Kate, the genius behind Gluten Free Gobsmacked, is a blessing, no matter what day of the week it is!

She decided a couple of weeks ago she wanted to do a virtual BBQ -- she, GF Stevie and I were discussing it in one of our "family chats." And now she's organized it.

I took the letter F, and I offer for this feast "Freakin' Awesome Tropical Chicken."

Friends, this is better than any teriyaki chicken I've ever eaten, it's very easy, and it can be done on the grill or in the oven.

I promised Kate I'd "keep it clean," first, because when I took the letter F...well my friends know my love of dropping an F bomb, as it were. But literally, it's a "Clean" recipe because it contains 1) no added fats or transfats, 2) no (or a miniscule amount) of High Fructose Corn Syrup, and 3) Can be made with totally organic/hormone free chicken and products. So, in the vernacular of the movement, it's "clean."

And friends, it's delish. I took it to a potluck last night, and I had no trouble sending leftovers home with our friends. Randy just had some for lunch, and it reheated well. And it would make a great chicken salad with some nuts and more pineapple.

Credit-where-credit-is-due department: This recipe was first posted on the Delphi list by a super cook and mom named Jen, who has a five year old daughter named Vicky who was diagnosed with CD as a baby. Jen is a superwoman -- professional career, doting and devoted mom, and a genius on CD and children. Friends, if you have a child with CD, you should find Jen on the Delphi list and make her your friend. She is an inspiration to me every day. She has been a kind friend for a year now, and I hope she knows I appreciate and send much love to her. THIS IS HER RECIPE. I just added two ingredients.

Freakin' Awesome Tropical Chicken
(Recipe from Jen, adapted by Ging)

Serves 12-16: For 4 boneless breasts, just halve the recipe: you’ll probably have extra marinade, but that is ok.

8 lbs. cut up chicken (or boneless, skinless breasts)
*Ging note: If I were doing this in the oven for a potluck again, I would use boneless, skinless thighs. They will hold better. I also think this would be FA with boneless pork chops!
Marinade
1/4 cup prepared mustard (I used French's and Dijon, mixed)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup GF soy sauce or wheat-free tamari
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple with juice
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger (I used ginger juice)
-these were my additions-
2 T. Chinese Chili Sauce (optional)
Six cloves fresh garlic, crushed

Combine all ingredients except chicken. Marinate chicken in mixture (ziplock bag/fridge) for at least 4-6 hours. (I did mine overnight with no ill effects.)
Outside directions: Drain the chicken in a colander and grill on your favorite grill til done. A nice addition -- sliced fresh pineapple, grilled on the side.
Rainy-day Indoor Preparation: Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken and about half the marinade (try to keep the pineapple and garlic part) in roaster-type pan – the chicken should nearly be covered with the marinade, but not quite). Bake until done -- it took me about 75 minutes in a convection oven.)

I am thinking about making this for my Dad for a Father's Day dinner. And all you non-GF friends out there, just use the regular soy sauce.

Much love, especially to my BBFF (best blogging family forever) Kate!
(Kate, did I link it to you right?)
Grillin' Ging

Keen on Quinoa

Yesterday on the Delphi Forums list, I saw Theresa from South Dakota's recipe for quinoa tabbouleh, and suddenly, I had to have some.
Tabbouleh, that is.
This was also the first time I'd tried quinoa since last summer, when it didn't settle so well. I must have been too young on the GF diet for my gut to tolerate it -- but now, for some reason, I have no problems with quinoa.
In fact, you could say I'm pretty keen on quinoa now! And it's great in tabbouleh!

So I went to the store and got the stuff to make Theresa's quinoa tabbouleh. I made a couple of personal changes/lazy adaptations to it. It's still delicious on a hot summer day.



Keen on Quinoa Tabbouleh

Six oz. quinoa
One 14.5 oz can GF chicken (or veggie) broth
1 bunch fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped basil
three sliced green onions
1/2 pint fresh tomato salsa (only fresh will do; otherwise, add 1 cup chopped tomatoes) Cook's note: THIS was an impulse addition to the tabbouleh, but I had this container of salsa that didn't taste right, but it was very fresh. Turned out to be a great decision...
1/2 cup balsamic vinaigrette dressing (I used Penzeys Country French made with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, but you could also use Newman's Own Light Balsamic)
Generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice
sprinkle of salt and pepper

Cook chicken broth and quinoa in microwave safe bowl, uncovered, for 8 minutes. Stir and let sit until quinoa is soft, about 10 - 15 more minutes. Add balsamic vinaigrette dressing while quinoa is still warm. Stir well.

Chop parsley, basil and onion finely, then add to quinoa. Stir in tomato salsa and lemon, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cover and refrigerate til chilled.

Serve with hummus (I personally loathe making hummus when I can buy the Sabra brand. It is GF and I love the Supremely Spicy version) and good crispy GF crackers.

As an aside, I love roasted eggplant, and it's painfully simple to make. Wash a medium globe eggplant (or two) and remove the cap. Slice and layer thin slices on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and bake at 400 degrees for an hour.

Serve as is, or drizzle more of the vinaigrette on it.** Good hot, cold, or room temperature.

Or do as I did, and throw on some sliced yellow squash and whole garlic for good measure.

**Yeah, I know. I COULD make baba ghanoush with the eggplant, however you spell it, but to me, the roasted eggplant does just as well with fewer calories...I love freshly roasted eggplant.

Try this salad. It is good. Thanks, Theresa, for the inspiration!

Much love,
Ging

An Ode to Silver Queen Corn

I am going to turn into an ear of Silver Queen Corn.

Last Thursday, on our way to World Golf Village, we found a great in-the-sticks produce stand in Hastings, Florida. You know how I love a good produce stand...

Well, their specialty, grown in the back 40 acres, was Silver Queen Corn. Now, I don't know if you know Silver Queen, but it is the ultra sweet, pearly white corn that makes its annual debut (around here, at least) in early to mid June.

I used to go to a farm in Eatonton every year and buy 100 ears, and I'd put the corn up in the freezer as whole ears or creamed corn. I miss that, and I sure did enjoy the ears we bought.

We have had corn four times over the last six days, and now, sadly, we're out of corn.

But it sure was good! This stand also had great tomatoes, green beans, and fresh local blueberries.

Be on the lookout for some fresh Silver Queen at your local produce stand. It might cost a little more, but it is worth it.

Delicious! Delicious! Delicious!

Much corny crunchy love,
Ging

Wake up call -- Cream Cheese Biscuits and Breakfast Casserole

I admit it, I have the summer blahs...wait. It isn't even Summer yet.

I have been a lazy blogger since I got back from Portugal, and for that I apologize. Thing is, I'm have a lazy time down here in Tampa, and I'm not really doing that much worth blogging about! Right now, I'm watching our pet gecko, Gordon, do push-ups on our patio...Randy is great about letting me rest when I don't have anything to do. We're going to be busy Friday and Saturday, and I have to head home briefly on Wednesday. But we're enjoying living under the same roof, even if all I have been doing is watching reruns of The Family Guy and Jon and Kate Plus 8.

Seriously, I had a horrible case of bronchitis last week (which I'm finally over) and Monday I got horribly glutened at Longhorn (AFTER ordering off the GF Menu!) I need to dash off another nasty note to Longhorn, but they really don't seem to care. I won't be dining there again, that's for sure. I still don't know what did it. Between the two issues, I've mostly been sleeping a lot since I got here.

I did come up with two new recipes over the weekend, while we were in St. Augustine at World Golf Village, so that is worth sharing. One is for a breakfast casserole (I figured something out about those with GF bread) and I came up with a new Cream Cheese Drop Biscuit.

Recipe One: The theory behind an Overnight GF Breakfast Casserole:

I love breakfast casseroles, but I have always followed a recipe for it. But this weekend, I finally figured out the size equation for a good breakfast casserole. So Stevie, you might like this for your upcoming brunch!

Per person you need:
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk (any fat percent, and can use rice or almond if necessary)
The equivalent of one generous slice of GF bread. (if you're not GF, use a big slice of stale regular bread, or half a bagel or croissant).
1/4 cup meat and cheese (or mushrooms, or your choice fillings)
1/16th t. salt and pepper (for one, it's a dash -- for four, it's 1/2 t.)
1/8 t. ground mustard powder (totally optional)

I made a GREAT casserole from 1 1/2 Glutino poppy seed bagels (Each half is like two slices of bread -- they're HUGE bagels and have 210 calories per half slice), six eggs, a cup and a half of two percent milk, and a cup and a half of mixed cheddar, parmesan, and diced ham. Everyone had two servings. So thus my math.

Directions:

In the blender, mix the milk, eggs, salt, pepper and mustard until they're thick and lemon colored and creamy).

In a greased casserole dish (I used one that was about 8 by 10 or so) mix thoroughly the TORN UP INTO CUBES bread, cheese, and meat (if I'd had mushrooms, I'd have added them). Pour liquid on top and press down on bread so it soaks up the liquid. If you can, cover with plastic wrap and weight the top so the mixture will absorb. Refrigerate over night.

The next morning, preheat to 350 degrees and place casserole on counter. When oven is hot, place casserole in oven and bake from 30-40 minutes (for four portions), or until a knife inserted in the center comes out fairly clean (suggest you start watching it at about 35 minutes, but it will have puffed and will be golden. But it could take up to 50 minutes as the casserole gets larger.)

Cream Cheese Drop Biscuits

I usually make drop biscuits with cottage cheese, but these were better. I think these could be good Scones, too, because they have a different consistency. I split the remaining biscuits and filled them with half a grilled chicken breast for breakfast.

2 cups of GF baking and pancake mix (I used the Whole Foods 365 brand, but Pamela's would work well here too.) Non-GF folks? Bisquick...Jiffy mix?
1 small tub light cream cheese, softened on the counter or in the microwave. (If Randy weren't eating them, I'd make them with chives.)
1/2 cup softened margarine of your choice or butter
About a half cup of milk (can use any kind, but I used 2 percent)

Put baking mix in bowl and add stir in cream cheese or margarine. You can do this with a spoon, or with a mixer. There is no difference. It will be thick.

Add milk until you have the batter the consistency of thick oatmeal.

Drop by rounded tablespoons full (heaping) on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 14 minutes or until a knife inserted in a biscuit comes out clean and the tops are lightly browned. Makes 8 large biscuits (or 10 medium, or 12 small).

Cheddar bay (Red Lobster) Adaptation:
Add one cup of shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, and 1 tablespoon of Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb in the finished biscuits. When they come out of the over, brush them with melter butter before serving.

These biscuits have a very delicate crumb and are very moist. They reheated well as Chicken Biscuits Sunday morning. And I was feeding two non-GF people with them!

I'm going to try to get back on here in a couple of days with some new product alerts/reviews. Unless I sleep til Friday...

Much love, and pass the biscuits!
Ging