New Planet Belgian Ale

So to start off, I am no beer connoisseur but I do enjoy a good beer. The only problem with enjoying beers is that after I drink one with Kyle around, I cannot give her a kiss because of the possibility of cross contamination. So for both of us to be winners, I decided to start drinking GF beers. The beer I usually drink is Corona because it is GF, but sometimes you need a little variety in your life.

The beer I am going to talk about is crafted by New Planet and it’s their Belgian Ale. Their Belgian Ale is quite tasty; it has a good mixture of flavor. It has a little bit of spice and it then is sweetened by the honey they add. One doesn't overpower the other and they do a good job of mixing the two. When you first take a sip you taste the spices first then the sweetness of the honey kicks in and it provides a nice after taste also. I know with some beers it has a little “bite” as I call it after you drink it, which I don’t mind, but this one doesn't have a bite and goes down quite smooth.

I definitely enjoy the beer and actually bought another 6 pack to review this beer. 

For more information on this beer go to New Planet's website.

Flavacol

This is the stuff movie theatres use to make their popcorn so tasty, well that and butter flavoring, but it's mostly this stuff. Its ingredients are: salt, artificial butter flavor, and food coloring. Not much, but it's fabulous!

We purchased ours at Gordon Food Service, and it really does make an enormous difference. However, this salt is not meant to be sprinkled on, it needs to be combined with the oil that the popcorn pops in. For best results at home we recommend the Whirley Pop.

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Want to try it yourself?

Check it out on Amazon through the link on the right,
or visit our online store.

Gluten Free Flour Blend

I have tried many different flour blends, but this one is by far my favorite. I keep in "stock" at all times. We even used it to make our wedding cupcakes. However, at around $5 a box it is a little too pricy for us. Luckily they have posted their blend on all their recipes that use it.

Whisk together:

Full Recipe	1/2 Recipe
6 cups brown rice flour 2 cups potato starch 1 cup tapioca flour/starch	3 cups brown rice flour 1 cup potato starch 1/2 cup tapioca flour/starch

Store in an air-tight container.

Pillsbury Pie Crust

We bought this along with the Pillsbury Pizza Crust at Woodman's. I was very excited because gluten free pie crusts are not always the easiest to make, as I tend to over knead them. Jeremy warmed up the crust as you are instructed to do, because it is very crumbly otherwise. I used old pot pie tins to make smaller pies, and made two apple, and two cherry.

The best way I found to get the crust into the pie is to roll out the dough between two pieces of saran wrap, as they suggest on the container. Then peel one side off, and carefully lay it into the pie dish. Without taking the plastic off gently press the crust into the pie tin/dish. Once the crust is fully pressed into the dish slowly pull off the plastic wrap.

Overall, I liked this crust better than the pizza crust in general taste. It was also very fragile to work with, even when warm. But I think we'll probably stick to making our own. If gluten eating people ate this instead of a regular crust at a family dinner, they might be slightly disappointed. In the end, I'd say this is a good solution if you're in need a of a quick fix, but I'd stick with attempting to make your own.

Aldi GF Chicken Nuggets

I originally saw the pin on the right on Aldi's Super Fan Pinterest page and purchased them within the week. They are pretty good but make sure you don't overcook them, or they end up tasting more like cardboard. Also each one is probably not much bigger than a quarter diameter-wise, and maybe 1/3" thick. I'm not sure they are worth the cost, but a tasty for a quick fix. Also, please note, prices may vary at different Aldi stores.

Pillsbury Pizza Crust

We were very excited when we saw this at Woodman's and decided to give it a try, along with their pie crust. Although tasty, I'm not sure that we will be purchasing this product again.

Overall, it turned out pretty well, and looked like relatively normal thin crust pizza. But it was kind of chewy in my opinion, and didn't have quite the right "pizza" taste. We also added some Crisco Butter spray (which is dairy free) and Italian seasoning to the edges.

Pizza is pictured with both Mozzarella and Cheddar Diaya Cheese.

Diaya Cheese

Since going dairy free in 2009, I have tried countless cheeses. Although nothing quite compares to slicing colby off the block or brie on french bread, Diaya does a pretty good job of satisfying my cheese cravings.

One of my biggest things with cheese is that it has to melt and not turn into a soupy mess or just get all sweaty and hold its shape. Diaya doesn't melt exactly like real dairy cheese, but it does a pretty darn good job, and tastes what I remember cheese tasting like (for the most part).

Note: When looking at cheese be sure to read the ingredients. Many "dairy free" cheese still contain casein, they just have the lactose removed.