Mother's Day Weekend

I know, I am late posting, but that's how it goes with kiddos.  Do I think Casey had a nice mother's day weekend.  It all started off with cleaning the house for her on Saturday, which obviously the heavens above were please with my cleaning as they blessed us with a beautiful rainbow that afternoon. ;)

[caption id="attachment_526" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Happy Heavens Rainbow"][/caption]

Casey and I enjoyed a movie later that evening, Blind side.  We both enjoyed it, check it out next time you are looking for something good.

Sunday, the kids got out their mother's day card they made Casey, it was huge, like 1.5ft x 2 ft.  Funny how the kids area already realizing how different aspect of gifts get more reactions.  We then hurried and got everyone ready and went out for breakfast at the waffle shop on Atherton.  We knew there was going to be a line and we were prepared, snacks, toys, games, etc just to keep them entertained till we got to the table.  It was definitely the least pleasant trip to the waffle shop ever.  I know it was mother's day, but taking like 25mins to get our food seemed a bit ridiculous.

We then went over to my grandmother's house to visit.  We also took some flowers and a vase.  She enjoyed the flowers and got a kick out of watching Hailey and Tyler play.

Later that evening, I cooked Casey her dinner request for gluten-free Mac n Cheese with grilled rosemary balsamic vinegar chicken. And to finish off dinner I made a Cranberry Mint Martini (her new fav).

[caption id="attachment_527" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Cranberry Mint Martini"][/caption]

Happy Mother's Day!

Gluten-Free Stromboli

I finally got some photos taken of a gluten-free stromboli that I made for dinner one evening.  I used the same recipe that I use for my gluten-free pizza.

1. Make the pizza dough following the pizza recipe instructions


2. Spread it out onto a large piece of parchment paper, just like in the my pizza recipe instructions, except make the entire thing flat, no extra dough needed around the edge for a crust.


3. Cover spread out dough with your favorite topping stuffers (veggies, meats, cheeses)


4. Pick up one edge of the parchment paper and fold it over to the other side.


5. Now push the dough together around the edges to create a sealed stromboli.


6. DON"T try to pull the parchment paper away now, wait until it is cooked


7. Place stromboli into the oven to bake (on a pizza stone works best)


8. After 5-8 minutes, its time to flip it, so very carefully flip it over onto its other side


9. After another 10 minutes, its time to take it out and enjoy

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Gluten-Free Stuffed Pasta Shells

Some of you may have saw my tweet the other night about Casey making gluten-free stuffed shells for me and I wanted to share a photo of them.  These are really good.

[caption id="attachment_423" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Gluten-Free Stuffed Shells"][/caption]

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Tinkyada Brown Rice Grand Shells Cooked


• 4 cups ricotta cheese


• 2 cups mozzarella cheese


• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese


• 3 eggs


• 1 Tbsp chopped parsley


• 3/4 tsp oregano


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1/4 tsp pepper


• 3 cups favorite pasta sauce

Cooking Temp and Time: 350F for 35 mins

Summer time in the city

Its funny how summer time keeps people busy and outside... I guess that is why I haven't been posting any new entries.  My sister told me I was being lazy.  lol

Anyhow, Casey and I have been enjoying the summer.  We went to Alexandria, VA this weekend for a bachelor and bachelorette party.  It was fun.  The party/gathering was at Dave and Busters.  We had never been to a Dave and Busters, but it is basically a Chucky Cheese for adults.  We had a good time.  

Casey and I did dinner at P.F. Changs which was right around the corner from Dave and Busters.  Casey loves P.F. Changs because it is the only Chinese food that Casey can eat that is gluten free (normal soy sauce is bad news).  We shared a bottle of riesling wine, some chicken lettuce wraps, and both of us had Ginger Chicken Broccoli entrees.  

After Dave and Busters, the group decided it was time to venture into the city for some fun.  We all headed to a little bar called the Madhatter.  It was a small bar, but a favorite of the bachelor and bachelorette.  Casey and I left the bar at around 1:30am and caught a ride on the Metro back to our hotel.  The Metro ride was interesting since neither of us had ever ridden the Metro by ourselves.  We managed to figure the ticket machine, hopped on the train, and made one switch to a different line, and finally got back to our hotel. woohoo.

I will try to post more frequently, or maybe not since it is summertime.

Dinner with Friends

This evening, I had the pleasure of cooking for my good friends from college; Chris, Jim, and John.  I prepared some excellent tenderloins and salmon on the grill for my guests.  Their taste buds were pleased and their bellies full after dinner.    I setup  my friend John (the mojito master) by buying some mint and limes.  I was hoping that he would show us his mojito skills and he sure did.  His mojito's were so delicious.  Thanks John and Dorota, Chris and Loretta, and Jim for the great evening!